Hi, for those of you who don’t know me, I’m Rhea and I’m running my first ever half marathon to raise money for Wild Young Parents Project.

3 years ago, I was 18, pregnant and scared. I had no idea what I was going to do. constantly facing stares and judgemental glances, which chipped away at me and I started to believe what the world said about teen mums.

But then, at 13 weeks pregnant, I went to my first group with Wild Young Parents project. I didn’t know at the time, but this charity was about to change my life.

Wild works with young parents under the age of 24. Many of whom come from complex backgrounds. Whether that’s abuse (of varying kinds), struggles with addiction, neglect, time in care, the list goes on. These things can become barriers to young people not just being their best selves but the the best parents they can possibly be. Wild starts to break down those stigmas and become a voice for us, when we have lost our own.

The heart of Wild is the weekly groups. Young mums chatting over a cuppa. Having a laugh with one another (some of us taking it too far, Sorry WILD!). Babies crawling all over the place, toddlers getting paint and food everywhere. It’s 2 hours outside of our daily lives, where we can all be ourselves and share precious moments together.

Day in, day out, Wild fights for us and our children to have the same fair start as any other normal family. Highlighting our strengths so we feel a sense of pride, and helping us build in other areas.

Wild also provides a service called Building futures. Now here’s where I am going to get really passionate…

This is for families who sometimes need a bit of extra help. one to one support that’s just a bit more personalised. This can be supporting through social care interventions, struggles with mental health, relationships, trauma, abuse etc.

Clare, who works on this side of wild, has been the greatest influences of my life. She’s the most patient, caring and real person I have ever met. She never gives up on a single mum she works with. It’s so important for us young mums to have a role model like that, so we are truly lucky.

There are so many things I could say about Wild but I don’t have enough words to ever be able to do it justice. The point of this is. Wild, and Clare, have changed my life in ways I will never be able to put into words.

But this is a charity. And rely on fundraising and donations. So, I have decided I will be running the AJ Bell Great Bristol Half Marathon to raise as much money as possible for a charity who change, but most importantly SAVE lives.

I had never heard of wild until i got referred. And I am sure many of you won’t have either. This needs to change. Every single staff member and volunteer are giving these children a fair start in life. That’s so much bigger than you think.

If you can follow along with my journey, support in any way you can. Whether that’s sharing this far and wide or even donating a pound. You too will be contributing to giving young parents and their children a fairer, better start to life.