Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I will be running the 2016 London Marathon on behalf of Alone in London. A charity that support young people between the ages of 16-25 in London to prevent homelessness. They do this by supporting individuals and families, offering employment and skills courses, counselling and by working with schools and colleges across all of London;s 32 boroughs.

Alone In London engaged with 2000 young people last year so please help me get behind this cause and allow them to continue the great work they do by donating any amount you can to this page.

You can find more information on the work Alone in London do here -www.aloneinlondon.org

This 26.2m (42.195kilometres) challenge will be a huge step up from the usual 3.11m (5k) I run.

If you can find money in your purse/wallets/pockets/down the back of thesofa or under the car seat to sponsor me it would be greatly appreciated anddonations can be made on my Just Giving Page.

Many thanks in advance,

Martin

IMPACT CASE STORY

Ruby

Ruby came to counselling struggling to cope at homedue to a turbulent relationship with her family, low self-esteem and littleselfworth. She was on the verge of leaving home but had no idea where to go andno one to turn to.

Ruby is a talented chef working in a job below herskill level. She has worked hard and displays integrity, but often has trouble dealingwith her work environment. She has had trouble with her finances, is under alot of pressure to maintain her household and is also looking after her illmother, who is unable to work due to her health. On top of that she had toendure bullying at college.

When Ruby came to Mind Connect, she was desperate totell her story and to get her frustrations off her chest. She spoke with a lotof energy. She did not seem to have a lot of opportunities to express herfeelings, and was often shut down or ridiculed by family members. As aconsequence, suppressing her feelings had become habitual.

Although the counselling setting was unfamiliar toRuby, she was eager to engage and use techniques to help manage her emotionsand explore new perspectives. One of the main focuses was to encourage Ruby torecognise when she was putting others before herself, and to question how appropriatethat was. It was a revelation that she might be being manipulated by those aroundher. By the end of her counselling sessions, Ruby was demonstrating a new levelof self-assertiveness, which meant she was able to say ‘no’ and to put herselffirst. This seemed to liberate her. She experienced less anxiety and cameacross as confident and strong.

As Ruby explained...

‘’I know I am of worth now. I realise I am just as important as everyone else.’’