testimonials

"Willows… Where do I start? My son J who has multiple diagnoses and complex needs was suffering with severe school based trauma. Both mainstream school and specialist provision had completely failed him. He had been an inpatient in a children’s mental health unit; a place that was supposed to help him, yet led to further trauma.

9 months ago J’s anxiety was consuming him. He was withdrawn, self-harming and would often talk about suicide. I knew he needed something positive to focus on, but I didn’t know what that looked like, until I stumbled across a Facebook post from Willows!

I pinged a message requesting further info. I was honest and open regarding J’s history and waited nervously for the rejection. The rejection never came! Instead I received a lovely reply and an invite to go for a visit so we could have a look around and chat some more – I sat and cried happy tears!

Our first visit was amazing! When we arrived J had his hood up, was hiding behind me and growling. Kelly wasn’t at all phased by his reaction, she was warm and friendly and chatted away as we looked around. J gradually moved away from us and went to explore. It was lovely to observe what some of the other children were doing. Some of the younger ones were doing cartwheels barefoot in the grass, others were building a den and climbing in the trees, another was reading in the hammock. All of them happy, relaxed and loving life! While we talked some of the older children approached J, his usual reaction would have been to growl and run away. Surprisingly he didn’t do either! He gave us the ’thumbs up’ and told them his name! From that moment there has been no looking back!

After not leaving my side for almost 5 years, J now attends Willows 2 days a week. He absolutely loves it! He has some wonderful friends, something he has longed for but always struggled with. He is starting to join in team games/sports, he is learning to understand feelings and manage his emotions. He is able to take risks in a supervised environment teaching him how to do things safely in the process.

There are occasionally situations J finds difficult to manage. The understanding and support J receives during these times goes above and beyond any expectations I ever had, and Kelly always checks in after a day or two to make sure everything is ok.

Kelly and her team are amazing. They are all so passionate about what they do and the children at Willows are thriving because of the environment, support and encouragement they provide. I genuinely don’t know where we would be if we hadn’t found Willows when we did. Thank you all so much for everything you do!"