Hi, my name's Mikayla. You may remember me from such claims as "I hate running" and "Gosh I am so unfit". 

Yet here I am today, telling you that I'm putting on those running shoes to train for the Great Manchester Run in September 2021. Why I am doing this is so very important.

Centrepoint is a wonderful charity that helps homeless young people through what I know from personal experience, is an extremely traumatic time of their lives.  

Centrepoint makes it their mission to help homeless young people into accommodation and gives them the support and resources to get back into education or employment. Youth homelessness is often overlooked or simply not widely thought of. There are so many causes, violence, abuse, mental health issues or any other reason that makes remaining in the familial home the less safe option for the young person. According to the charity's research there were 110,000 young people asking for help last year.

I was made homeless just as I turned 17 due to a familial breakdown that was no fault of my own. It was an incredibly scary and traumatic time of my life and one that I am sure I wouldn't have survived if not for the help of some wonderful women who are still in my life 13 years later as my chosen parents and that of a different charity that was not set up to help young homeless people such as myself.

I was hit with blows left right and centre, with no help from the council, trying to manage college, living in a hostel that nobody was allowed to know the location of whilst taking hit after hit to my mental health. The support I received through this time got me through my studies and into University. The love I received made me feel accepted and the culmination of all of those things means I was able to lead a relatively normal life.

For every lucky statistic as myself, there are so many more who don't find themselves with a support network or the resources to help them navigate their circumstances. Centrepoint is their only lifeline.

£144 could keep a homeless young person off the streets for up to a year. My goal is £250 for the run but I want to raise as much as possible to make the biggest difference to a young homeless person's life.

If you read this far, thank you for listening (and hopefully donating!)