QR used to do a lot of boxing and training, but had stopped doing this. He then fell down the wrong path and was on tag, involved with the wrong crowd, smoking and generally wasting his days without a real purpose. He was aware of his situation but did not know where to start with getting out of the mindset he was in.

‘I wanted to start my own business and I didn’t know how to. I really wanted to get my business up and running and sort myself out.’

This young person struggled with staying consistent and engaged in the project. His mental health deteriorated and as he was not training at all anymore, he was expressing his energy through anger and frustration. There were multiple times when he would not get on with others on the project.

After being on tag and getting to a point of frustration with his mental health, he reached out to the Market Project lead worker. This was a big turning point for him. He had an initial meeting with the worker and they showed him coping mechanisms which he could use to help manage his emotions. The worker supported QR by writing a number of different lists to help him become more organised which helped QR visualize and work towards his business idea whilst managing his daily life.

The lead worker also helped him get back into training and his boxing routine by referring him to a community gym. His behaviour drastically changed since he started these activities. Following this he began engaging very well in the group sessions and was much more motivated to start his business.

After participating in the programme for a number of weeks, he became better focused and patient, learnt more about the clothing market and the industry and met a lot of people to network with. With all this knowledge and his newly gained skills, the lead worker helped QR develop his business plan; ultimately shining a positive light on his future.

‘I have met new inspirational people and have a good social network to build my business. My mental wellbeing is also improving.’

This is the only project that GR took an interest in, mainly because of the way the project was set up. His brother was involved in a lot more criminal activity, and his social worker hoped that the Market Project would help him work towards a more positive path.

GR was also a care leaver and had been stabbed five times when he was very active on the roads and involved in a gang.

‘I wanted to join to start my own business to keep me off the roads and keep me doing positive things. It’s a life-changing turnaround.’

GR had severe trauma and PTSD from his stabbings. He also had mental health issues that he did not address. His lack of confidence was something he faced on a daily basis. This is something that impacted his engagement on the project, as he did not have the self-belief or the drive to develop his business.

Over the course of the programme, his behaviour and attitude changed. GR was willing to put effort into starting his business. He started to think of ideas of how to source money to fund his business and grow it to a point where it could sustain him so he would not be relying on benefits. He had also been talking with his brother to do this together, so it would refocus his brother from doing negative things and start to get on to a better path. As a result, this opened up new communication with his brother, which has really improved their relationship.

We arranged for a professional business owner to have one-to-one mentoring sessions which elevated his engagement and passion for his business idea. He is still working on this but every day is motivated to make it a success and deters him from criminal activities.

‘My communication skills have improved. I have improved my confidence skills and feel like I can talk to my peers and adults more. I have more belief in myself. Being on the market selling, it makes me want to get my business out there.’