Giving voice to teen mental health

She lost her dad, battled anorexia and was self-harming by ten. Then she experienced bulimia and suicide attempts.

Her late teens were spent in and out of psychiatric wards when she lost several friends to suicide, too. But The CHANGE New start Prince’s Trust Team programme at Colin Glen in Belfast was the catalyst that enabled Lucy, 21, to change her life. She is a mental health advocate who has been elected chair of the Northern Ireland Youth Forum and delivers suicide awareness talks. She says: “I never thought I’d make my 21st birthday – thanks to The Trust I’m alive.”

LUCY GRAINGER