Several weeks ago, BBC Radio Devon featured Young Devon on their Breakfast show broadcasts; airing audio diaries from several of our young people, every day for a week.
This incredible opportunity gave several members of our Youth Council the chance to voice their thoughts and feelings during lockdown; sharing how the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic has impacted them.
Take a listen…
“I feel that it’s important to keep talking during this difficult and confusing time… I’m finding it extremely difficult not being able to spend quality time with my family and my friends. I know that this won’t be forever, but my underlying fear is that maybe I won’t be able to see these important and special loved ones again… it’s hard looking at the outside life everyday and feeling trapped in my own house, thinking about all the things we take for granted in the normal world…
The most difficult part of this virus is the not knowing, and the constant struggle to keep yourself strong and fighting… it’s just as important to sit and talk about the positives, even if they are hard to find, during this time. Think about how far you have come, and keep in touch with your loved ones… eventually things will get better.”
- Tom, 20
“I have been achieving much more things that I didn’t think I could, and I have learnt a lot of lessons. I feel like this quality time in quarantine has really made me learn loads of different life tasks, and made me feel like ‘I can actually do this!’
I have been doing lots of online courses… it’s made me even more excited for the future. I’ve used this opportunity to figure out what I want to do in life… I want to thank Young Devon for being part of my journey, and for helping me every step of the way. Everyone is doing an amazing job, keep at it! Keep safe, keep smiling.”
- Imogen, 16
“It has been a challenging day today. I have managed to go for a nice walk around where I live… it’s quite nice that we’ve all had a chance to go out and see and experience things that we maybe didn’t have time to before; for instance I have explored around where I live in Devon, and I have gone on walks (keeping my distance obviously!) Today I discovered a really nice spot to go and sit, to clear my mind from things. It’s important to exercise… keep active and just know that it will be over… distract yourself, as challenging as it is; that’s how I’ve been getting through it anyway.” - Sam, 17
“I can honestly say that I am so pleased with the support that people are offering; the way that people are reaching out and communities are coming together… the awareness mental health is now getting and the services that are now having the recognition they deserve… people knowing that they are not alone and people reaching out.
It is so amazing to see, as someone who is quite close to it. It is a really positive thing, to know that things may be really hectic but regardless of age, where you come from and your background, people are coming together… it’s opening doors for communication between the generations that needs to happen; that has needed to happen for so long.
The idea of not being OK, is becoming OK…. I am going to reach out to as many people that I know that are vulnerable at the moment, and support them. In my (Young Devon) Youth Council group, we also support each other, and we are all quite vulnerable young people; and that’s something that we all need. We all need someone, and we are that support network. That’s what is getting me through every day personally… positive changes are going to happen in lieu of all of this negativity and all of the scaremongery and all of the fear; there is something really positive coming out. I just really hope that it carries on, and those doors stay open afterwards.” - Bea, 20
“At first, I was always making jokes about being stuck inside, about COVID-19; I wasn’t really worried about it. But, as time has gone on and days have turned into weeks, I have started to get more worried about it. I’m worrying about how my family and friends are doing because I can’t go out and see them, to see if they’re OK. My grandparents are in the high risk category and I’m quite worried about them as well, hopefully I’ll see them soon…
Even with all my sarcastic remarks and jokes about Coronavirus and being stuck inside, I have taken it quite seriously; staying inside, only going out for essential trips and going for a walk now and then. To keep myself busy, I’ve been cooking food, writing songs, sleeping and going for walks…” - Kian, 17
“I am a Year 12 student, which means that I am in my first year of Sixth Form… I am having to learn the most content heavy part of my whole education, at home… it’s so much harder to learn everything at home… at this stage, we would be looking into Universities, we would be booking open days, we would be going through the stages of applying to University but we can’t do that and it brings a sense of wishing we could. It just makes the situation a whole lot worse.
This is most important time in our lives, when we would be choosing the career paths we would want to go down, pinnacle moments, and it’s been taken away from us… it’s stress upon stress… my mental health is struggling so much because of the stress of all the work and not knowing what is going to happen.”- Jasmine, 17
Young Devon is still open and supporting young people everyday.
If you or a young person you know is struggling during this difficult time, please contact us. We are only an email, phone call or text away.
Please see our Coronavirus Service Update for up-to-date details on how to contact us.
