Mary says thanks to YMCA Norfolk with skydive
Twice abandoned by her mother, Norwich teenager Mary Hayes was given a home and a future by the work of YMCA Norfolk and now she is set to repay that help by completing a skydive to raise cash for the Christian charity. Keith Morris reports
 Mary, aged 17, is set to jump on September 6 with UK Parachuting at Beccles Airfield to fulfil a lifelong ambition and as a way of saying thank-you to the YMCA
“I have always wanted to do a skydive,” said Mary. “I am quite scared but I really want to do it. I also cannot think of anything better to do than to raise some money for the YMCA, to help them provide housing and support to other young people who find themselves in the same situation as me, because they have helped me so much and there is no way I could physically repay them”
At the age of just 12, Mary faced a situation that no child she ever have to face: “One Sunday morning I woke up at home with my brother and two sisters and my mum had just disappeared,” she said. “We were all separated and I ended up in care, which was quite hard for me
“After 18 months in care I returned to live with my mother but it happened again when she left me to go to live with her partner and this time I was completely on my own. I was 16 and just about to start my GCSEs
“The YMCA took me on straight away for five nights under the emergency NightStop scheme in Norwich and then that was renewed for a further five nights. The woman I stayed with, Annie, is absolutely lovely and I got on really well with her and her two daughters
“Annie said she would like me to stay on and changed to the YMCA’s Supported Lodgings scheme. I have now been with Annie for five months and I can now live here for up to two years. I feel like I can now be a 'normal' 17-year-old and that I finally belong somewhere”
While with the YMCA, Mary has completed a Ready to Employability course, and is about to start a Phoenix Plus course, including retaking some GCSEs plus doing some new ones
“I want to go on to do A Levels and then go to university to study law,” said Mary. “I have seen a lot of things on the other side of the law and I am just so interested in it as well. I am also very good at arguing and enjoy it”
Being in Supported Lodgings has also helped Mary to acquire some life skills such as cooking and cleaning. “I do now feel that I could live independently and that is down to the YMCA and Annie,” she said. “Otherwise I don’t think I would have the motivation to do anything around the house or anything”
Mary has also been to the dentist for the first time in her life and is now able to use buses alone. “When I first came to the YMCA I suffered from high anxiety and depression,” she said. “Now I can travel on buses alone, which may sound small but for me was a very big thing and I had never been able to before. I got a panic attack just standing at the bus stop. I feel a lot more positive and don’t feel anxious at all”
Mary’s determination has impressed her YMCA support worker Denise Hunter too: “Mary told me that if she can jump out of a plane then she feels that she can take on anything in life and know that she can succeed,” said Denise. “She has arranged it all herself and even run a car boot sale to raise some of the cash
“We have been working in partnership with NCC Children's Services to support Mary. She has a fantastic social worker Liz and guidance advisor Fiona and we have worked together to ensure that Mary is aware of all opportunities in order to achieve her goals. Together we have worked towards giving Mary a stable, supportive, empowering foundation from which she can spread her wings and fly when the time is right for Mary. This is what collaborative working is all about!”
Mary feels that she now has a future to look forward to: “Throughout my life I have never had control and it is a big thing for me. At the minute I feel I am starting to gain control and I think it is something that everyone needs. I think the skydive will make me more confident as well and allow me to realise that if I can do that there is not a lot else that I cannot do”
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