NYAS are a leading children's rights based charity who support children and young people in care and young people trying to get contact with their families. We listen to what children and young people want, care about what they say, and empower them to get their voice heard.We ensure their wishes and feelings are expressed and acted upon to improve their situation and help them build a better future.We will never stop in our efforts to influence, lobby and campaign to bring about positive changes and ensure children’s and young people’s rights are upheld.

In 2017, I was experiencing issues at home with my parents which affected my mental health and resulted in me deteroriating very quickly in terms of my mental health and resulting in me being admitted to a mental health unit called The Platform which used to be managed by Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust. This was when I lived in England. I was experiencing suicidal ideation along with psychotic symptoms in the form of hallucinations and paranoia.

I spent two weeks on the ward and was discharged to live in Scotland in 2016. After spending a few months trying to get my life back on track, I decided that I wanted to get contact with my sisters who were living with my parents and asked Children's Social Care to help me achieve this but was unsuccessful. I contacted multiple solicitor firms including Morecrofts LLP who signposted me to NYAS.

NYAS helped me to apply for legal aid and wrote to my parents seeking contact. They did not reply to the correspondence and so a NYAS Solicitor applied to the Family Court at Wigan for a child arrangements order for me to see my sister Rebecca. NYAS have been my sword and shield throughout the case and always acted in mine and my sister's best interests. Over the next coming months, mental health assessments were completed and my application was granted despite being opposed by my parents. NYAS have helped me over the past two years and since their intervention, I have been able to build a healthy relationship with my sister who is always excited to see me. This is thanks to NYAS and I wouldn't have been able to manage the process without them due to the sensitive issues involving my parents. As a way of thanking NYAS for the work they do, I want to do a skydive for two reasons:

1. To thank NYAS for their support in helping re-unite a family who was going through a difficult time and helping to re-establish a sibling bond.

2. To show that despite having mental health issues like my mixed personality disorder that I have overcome leaps and bounds and the only person stopping me from achieving my potential
is me and nothing is impossible.