I had the support of friends and family when I needed them, but not all young people are so lucky. When I moved back to Southampton, I decided to do some volunteer work with young people who were leaving care. It underlined that a lot of young people don't have the sort of network that I had.

When the Fairbridge job came up, I was honest about my experiences. I've had time to reflect and it makes it easier to use my experiences to help others without being too preachy.

We work with young people up to 25 and it can be harder for the older age group to access us. A lot of services do not deal with the transition to adulthood and adult services may not be suitable. Their lives are more hectic and they have specific problems such as housing.

I do a lot of outreach work in youth clubs, colleges and information services. When I moved back here I was quite shocked by the need for our services. Southampton has one of the highest levels of teenage pregnancy in the country and significant drugs and mental health challenges.

My role is to work with young people to help them move on towards where they want to go. I can be working with them for a year, but it's all voluntary.

I use a number of techniques to get young people to open up. It can be drawing or meeting in an informal space. If it doesn't work, I try something else and look for the reaction. I'm studying counselling at the moment.

We also work with art and music, which is a hobby of mine. It allows you to see a different side of young people and provides an opportunity to talk on a different level.