Guest Blog Post – Former member Susie Barrow

I was born in Stoke , I grew up in Wolverhampton.

I joined CYT I performed with them, I directed for them, I took part in summer schools with them and went abroad with them.

All before I stopped being a Y – Youth – but the stuff that happened after matters too. When I went to Uni we had ten weeks off in the summer- I came home- to CYT. When I did a summer school with young asylum seekers they reminded why community projects are every bit ,if not more important, than the degree I was doing.

When I was graduating – I came home – to CYT. We did some workshops for amazing young people and told them what their options might be. After Uni I went to work for a few years in the media industry , sometimes I had good times and sometimes I had bad times. Often – I came home – to CYT. I talked to young people trying to get into the media industry, CYT and EX CYT members and many of them went far

After media I went into recruitment and sales. It was a rotten and a hard job. It took all the perseverance and grit I’d learnt in CYT to make it work. Whenever I needed a break- I came home -to CYT. I left recruitment to travel the world. I did, And I carried CYTs message and method with me. I’ve joined 5 year old Bolivian’s playing Zip Zap Bong and students in Mexico creating a performance protest against the ‘disappearance’ of students. And then I came ‘home’… to England,…. to Wolverhampton …. To CYT…and when I came home I found out that CYT doesn’t have a home anymore.

They’re homeless and without the stability of my lynchpin, my anchor and my network I feel the same- homeless. CYT is home to so many people. Ex-members, members, parents and community groups – don’t leave them homeless –donate

Susie Barrow – Former Member