'I was too terrified to leave my house for 5 years' says young Milton Keynes woman who now embraces the outside world
A young woman who was so anxious that she couldn’t step outside her own front door has told how the YMCA helped her lead a normal life again.
Hannah has autism and suffered from severe social phobia, which became worse during the COVID pandemic.
The enforced isolation caused her mental health to decline and her anxiety to become overwhelming – so intense that she stayed inside her house for almost five years, unable to take even a step outside.
Her problems eventually led to a stay in hospital and it was there that Hannah was referred to YMCA Milton Keynes’ Youth Mentoring Programme.
With the support of her mentor Emma, she began taking small but brave steps back into the world. Together, they worked on building routines, managing anxiety, and slowly rebuilding confidence.
Through the mentoring, Hannah began to push herself in ways that once felt unthinkable, such as using public transport and volunteering at a café.
Today, she has built a daily routine that helps her manage stress and prepare for the day ahead. She now works part-time at a local café, a job she loves.
Before mentoring, Hannah says she felt stressed, sad and shy. Now she describes herself as “trusting, happy and comfortable”.
She said: “I would highly recommend [the Youth Mentoring programme. Definitely. It got me to where I am now.”
The programme has been described as vital for the mental health and wellbeing of young people, particularly as local authority spending on youth services has been slashed dramatically over the year.
Funding for vital Milton Keynes youth services has reduced by a whopping 83% over the past 16 years, new figures released in the YMCA’s annual report have shown. This means the the city is now in the bottom half of local authorities for youth services funding - with the council investing just £26.39 per young person per year.
The YMCA report highlights a grim situation nationally, saying that the pattern highlights how youth services - which are discretionary rather than statutory - are increasingly being squeezed as councils struggle to meet rising demand and costs across adult social care, housing, children’s services and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The latter two sit within the same education budgets as youth services, but are legal obligations that councils must prioritise, leaving general youth services vulnerable.
Meanwhile, the lcity’s YMCA is seeing more and more success with the Youth Mentoring Programme, which includes group and one-to-one mentoring, youth clubs and consultations with young people.
Feedback from the 256 youth mentoring sessions delivered by the charity in 2024/25 shows 100% of the young people had a greater belief in their own abilities afterwards, 83% were more likely to engage in employment, education or training, 70% experienced an improvement in their mental health, 71% were less likely to engage in crime and 69% were less likely to use alcohol or drugs.
The charity has welcomed the direction of travel set out in the strategy, but warns that the scale of funding loss means delivery will be challenging without sustained investment.
Simon Green, CEO, YMCA Milton Keynes and YMCA Northamptonshire, said: “Behind these figures are young people losing safe spaces and opportunities to thrive. With an epidemic of mental health issues among young people, the basics of a trusted adult, positive role models, and a sense of community are needed more than ever. To be in the bottom half of the country for funding is hugely disappointing and has a real impact.
“As an organisation championing youth voice and long advocating for the power of youth services, we welcome the renewed focus on young people nationally, but unless funding matches ambition, there is real fear that this focus will be in vain and too many young people, like Hannah, could continue to fall through the gaps.”