Teen says charity therapy 'may have saved my life'

Jaime has become a peer support volunteer after saying the charity changed her life

A teenager has said the charity she now volunteers at "may have saved her life" when she was herself being helped by it.

STEP Swindon runs therapeutic groups for children and teenagers who might have mental health issues, learning disabilities, be autistic or have other difficulties in their lives.

Groups can also involve activities, like arts, drama and sports and, over a decade, some of the funding for it has come from BBC Children in Need.

Jaime - now at college - said it had "made such a difference to my life, I want to give something back".

The groups often do activities like art, drama and sport

She first came to the groups about six years ago, when she was 10 or 11 years old: "I was in a bit of a mess. I struggled with anger throughout my childhood.

"STEP basically changed my life. May have saved my life on a few occasions."

Jaime describes the environment as relaxed, which allows people to open up. There are also opportunities to be creative.

"I was someone who was nearly given up on from my perspective. I never want anyone to feel like that again.

"Anyone who's struggling, I want them to know there is an open door and someone there for them," she added.

Maisie, 12, said she found herself connecting with people more in the sessions

Maisie, 12, is autistic and said she first started going to sessions when she was having problems at school: "It felt like I could connect with people more like me. It felt like I could be more myself around everyone."

Her mum, Karina, said before STEP, her daughter's behaviour had been deteriorating: "You couldn't console her. The atmosphere in the house was awful, treading on eggshells the entire time."

She was impressed with the quick referral and said Maisie - who was initially "scared of literally everything" became "so much more confident".

"She's calmer. She's happier. School life is a bit easier. The atmosphere in the house has changed," her mum said.

Director of the charity, Paul Dobson, says BBC Children in Need believe in what they do

Paul Dobson - director of STEP Swindon - explained they received a huge range of reasons that children might come to them: "The way we differ is the groups we put together are bespoke. We get the referrals coming in and we put the groups together based on the need.

"We want them to respond to the support we're giving them. We need to engage them, make sure it's fun," he added.

He told the BBC that many models of care might stick to one or two methods to help but they think a bit differently: "I like to think we use a 'whatever it takes' model."

Mr Dobson says Children in Need "believe in what we're doing and they trust us to deliver that".