Local Support, Lasting Impact

At Youth Talk we are proud to be developing a strong link with The Pioneer Club – a youth and community charity based here in St Albans.

Like Youth Talk, The Pioneer Club are all about supporting young people in the St Albans District community. Originally founded in 1941 for evacuees from London to St Albans during World War Two, it is a live music venue and home to the oldest indoor skatepark in the UK and remains a safe haven in the community with a focus on youth culture.

For the past two years, I have had therapy after being referred by my doctor, as I was heading for a nervous breakdown. The therapy has been an incredible insight into my life and how so many things channel down to one trigger point… Losing my mother to cancer at an early age.  We were a generation of just getting on with life, head down, battle on and pick yourself up when being knocked down in life. The Pioneer Club was a big part of my life, as it allowed me to meet new friends, get away from home and go to nights out listening to music. 

A few years ago, I went back to the Pioneer Club… I went back to the skate park and saw young people enjoying themselves, laughing, smiling and having fun.  It was just wonderful to see. I then delved deeper into what the Club as a whole does for young people and the community and it made me think: what a lovely place to go to, especially for our young people to integrate and work on their social skills, to meet and talk to new friends who have something in common with them; and for the volunteers who give up their time for these young people and prepare them for their lives ahead. 

My son too suffered incredible anxiety and depression at 13 years old, at the time my father passed away.  He was very close to his grandad, but he also had other traumas in his life going on at the same time; being bullied, moving to a new school and struggling to integrate. His body expressed this anxiety when he was diagnosed with alopecia and self-harming by pulling his hair out. 

He was advised that therapy would help, but he’d be on a long waiting list on the NHS, so his mother and I paid for private therapy.  Over time, we saw a different boy, slowly getting confidence back, and growing up to be a fine young man.  He is now an adult, 20 years old, with a good job, lovely friends, always polite and loves spending time with his family. 

I just wished that when I was young, or even when my son was struggling, we had the option of a charity like Youth Talk. 

So, the vision was born.  I love to DJ and do so through livestreams, a radio show and local venues in St Albans, so I approached both Jim Lewis of Youth Talk and Jon Prayer of The Pioneer Club with my proposal.  The Day Rave was created!  The first one is taking place on Saturday 4^th October 2025, and tickets are available here.  This isn’t just a one off… this is going to be a yearly event that I hope will get bigger each year we do it. Buying a ticket guarantees a great afternoon of music and gives you the opportunity to help support our young people.