YESS founder Mina Mawson, says: “Due to a variety of causes – parental abandonment, exclusion from school, being in trouble with the police – many young people often have no positive role models in their lives and no source of advice when problems occur. Many see such young people – involved in street gangs, drugs and petty crime – as malevolent, threatening and beyond hope.”

YESS act as individual mentors to help troubled young people to get back on their feet. Their support includes arranging the necessary appointments and accompanying them to interviews. Young people at risk of exclusion from school are supported by YESS through their exams and into training and employment, but the group does much more than this - acting many times as a surrogate parental figures to enable disenfranchised young people to become fully integrated and engaged with society.

By co-ordinating all the resources available, both from the state and voluntary sector, including a grant from Capital Community Foundation, the work of the group has grown exponentially – helping hundreds of young people out of trouble and into positive futures.