Often we tell stories about young people who have faced severe hardship – family breakdown, mental health issues, crime and anti-social behaviour. Whilst these are typical of the kind of issues we help young people cope with, we strive to be there for “every” young person, regardless of background. Sometimes we meet someone like Rosie:

“The Door will always be such a huge part of my life. I started going to The Door when I was 11. Mainly because it was on my way home from school.”

On the outside, Rosie was a fairly typical pre-teenager – recently starting at Stroud High School she was experiencing the freedom that comes with being allowed to walk home from school alone.
However there was much more to Rosie than met the eye.

“I very quickly started volunteering behind the coffee bar, and got involved with the youth forum and peer mentoring scheme. I loved that there was somewhere I could go where I could just be a young person and not worry about anything else.”

Like any adolescent, Rosie was dealing with the ups and downs of growing up. Some days were harder than others. Rosie dealt with life by finding ways to get involved and give something back. She became a mainstay of the Stroud Centre, and always seemed to be there to help out the youthworkers, or other young people. We quickly recognised a gift in Rosie for coming alongside others – the sort of skills which a youthworker needs.

We helped her access a college course when she was 16 – bucking the trend of going to 6th Form to study something vocational because she knew in her heart what she wanted to become. This turned out to be an important step in her youthwork journey.

“I am proud to say I have now graduated with a first class honours in Youth and Community Work and I am coming to the end of a year as President of the Students’ Union at my University. I’m also half-way through my Master’s degree in youthwork.”

“None of this would have happened without The Door and the support of youthworkers who I now consider close friends. They believed in me and gave me the opportunity to find something I love, and make a career out of it.”

But the story doesn’t end there, we’re delighted that, for Rosie, the wheel has come full circle, and she is joining the board of trustees here at The Door.

“I am so happy to have been invited to join the trustee board at The Door, an incredible charity that make a real difference to the lives of young people and their families in Gloucestershire. Having grown up at the project from 11 years old, they had a huge influence on my life and inspired me to do youth work so I can’t wait to be able to give back and support the future of The Door.”


Volunteering can have such a big impact on the young people we support and we are pleased to be able to continue offering opportunities for young people across The Door from Youth Club Café Teams to The Door Shop and a variety of work experience.

Find out more about volunteering opportunities here

Rosie’s Story

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