Youth Talk Volunteers

The 2nd-8th June 2025 is Volunteers Week, so we are shining a spotlight on our amazing volunteers!

Behind the scenes at Youth Talk, a dedicated team of volunteers generously give their time to support us. Many help at events—running stalls, fundraising, and raising awareness of our work with young people across St Albans, Harpenden and surrounding areas.

Sarah is one of our volunteers and has taken some time out to talk to us about being involved with Youth Talk

I wasn’t really aware of Youth Talk until a couple of years ago when my daughter was struggling with her mental health. CAMHS signposted us to Youth Talk and I thought it was worth investigating. By the time I reached out, we’d found her a private therapist, but I am painfully aware that there are so many young people who are struggling at the moment; and not all of them will have access to private services. Because she was already talking to a private 1:1 therapist, Youth Talk offered my daughter group art therapy, which was perfect because art is her favourite subject at school and the group setting and expressing herself creatively gave different benefits to 1-2-1 talking therapy.  

Having benefited from Youth Talk’s services ourselves; and being aware of the huge strain on NHS mental health services, I wanted to get involved to support the invaluable work that Youth Talk does. I’m a mum to two teenagers and so I recognise just how tough life is for our young people and for many families, Youth Talk offers an incredible lifeline (literally, in some cases). As someone who’s lived in St. Albans for nearly 20 years, I am also passionate about supporting local causes.

As a volunteer I offered my services when I was taking a sabbatical from work in marketing/comms. I wrote a few blogs and shared some of my local business contacts. I’ve also helped in a more practical way by supporting the Youth Talk stand at local events such as the recent Spring Festival and the upcoming St. Albans Half Marathon, manning the stall and sharing more information about what Youth Talk can offer for local 13–25 year olds. I’ve also delivered posters to local schools and GP surgeries to further spread the word.

The great thing about volunteering is that you can give as much or as little as you are able to – it all helps.

I find ‘giving back’ through volunteering really rewarding – it’s a well-known fact that acts of kindness can improve your own physical and mental health, as well as the receiving party. I’ve also met other lovely Youth Talk volunteers, who all have their own stories and reasons for getting involved, so I’ve met some new people with incredible stories, with a shared motivation of supporting a fantastic cause.

To find out more about how you could support Youth Talk check out https://youthtalk.org.uk/get-involved/