Pearl’s mum Selina was searching for organisations that could help her daughter. Pearl had experienced poor mental wellbeing during a key transitional time of her life – leaving School Year 6 and entering the world of secondary school. With the call out there, there was not one but two responses that came from Watford Football Club’s Community Sports and Education Trust, via their initiatives Youth Link and Empower.
When Pearl first joined the Youth Link programme, she admitted to feeling both scared and excited. The initial sessions, held at Vicarage Road Stadium, offered her a safe, welcoming space to begin opening up about her feelings, worries, and personal challenges. She was supported in these early stages by the Trust’s Health and Wellbeing Project Officer (Young People), Ines, who she described as “kind” and someone who helped her to “open up and talk.” These one-to-one sessions focused on issues such as school, home life, and Pearl’s anxiety. Ines introduced several coping strategies and support networks, including the use of positive affirmations like “I am brave,” and “I will enjoy school,” which Pearl repeated daily to build her confidence and self-esteem.
Soon after starting Youth Link, Pearl was also referred to the Empower programme.
This group-based initiative focused on mental wellbeing, emotional resilience, and peer support through physical activities and workshops. Pearl thrived in the group environment, forming connections quickly. She spoke enthusiastically about creating a “girl group” and a shared “girl code” with her peers, which helped her feel included and understood. Selina backed up her daughter’s positive reflections:
“For us to drop them off, knowing that they are safe. And that they were
meeting new people, gaining confidence, and then, for them knowing that
they’re not the only ones out there that experience what they’re going through,
like bereavement or anxiety or just behaviour.”
Empower sessions blended fun, games, and group discussions with structured personal development activities. One task that stood out for Pearl was creating a personal toolkit – a collection of strategies she could turn to when feeling anxious. The positive and consistent support from staff helped her feel “welcomed” and “happy”.