Carly's story

Carly, 17, goes to YWCA in West Kent. She had a difficult upbringing with a dad who drank and a disabled mum who struggled to cope. Carly spent most of her childhood helping to bringing up her younger brothers. She missed a lot of school.

“I was bullied at school. I found reading really hard. I felt like a failure but I was dyslexic! I thought that if I didn’t start something then I couldn’t fail. So I gave up.”

She started drinking when she was 14 to give herself confidence, and at 15 met a man she thought she was in love with and became pregnant. She says: “I was so insecure I was looking for someone to love me” but her boyfriend left her before the baby was born. Carly says: “I get on with life now. It’s not easy but I am doing alright.”

Since coming to YWCA, Carly learned a lot about herself and what she really wants, and has gained confidence. Already she has completed a course to help her get the qualifications she needs. She’s now planning ahead.

‘Now I’ve got a better outlook on what I want for my future. I want to work in a garage surrounded by cars, or have my own garage. I want to support my daughter and for everyone to look at me and say I can’t believe she’s made it!”

Although Carly is determined to enter the traditionally male-dominated profession of car mechanics, for her it’s not about doing a man’s job. It’s simply about training for and doing the work she wants to do.

She says: “I hate the fact that people say ‘Oh mechanics is a bloke’s job’. I’m not going to sit back and let people tell me I am not allowed to do it!”

With the support of YWCA, Carly is now on a mechanics course at college.

 Read other young women's stories.