WARRINGTON Youth Club believes in ‘inspiring people to achieve’ and ‘each person has a genius inside them waiting to be discovered’.

The club currently works with 2000 young people every month but wishes to extend this to 2000 every week.

As part of their personal and social development courses, more than 250 young people have received nationally recognised accreditations and qualifications.

A FORMER St Gregory’s student has escaped the grip of anorexia and has rediscovered her identity after years of battling the illness.

Bubbly Marissa Pendlebury claims being hospitalised four times stole her dignity completely but she has since turned her life around with the help of Warrington Youth Club.

The 21-year-old said: “I found myself through helping others. When I joined the club it showed me that there is light at the end of tunnel and this gave me the incentive I needed to carry on and get better.”

Marissa has suffered from the eating disorder anorexia nervosa since she was aged 14 after the pressures of adolescence proved a difficult time for the year nine pupil.

The student from Westbrook said: “I stopped playing athletics and I threw myself into studying as I thought if I was good at something then I would have an identity - I would know who I was.”

“I used eating as a way to cope with the stress and sometimes I would go full days without anything - not consciously - it was a way to help me during this anxiety-ridden time.”

Marissa was aware of the downward spiral but felt entangled by the illness like a ‘spider’s web’ which gripped her tightly.

She said: “You’re not in tune with your emotions as much when you don’t eat but, by the time I realised it had gone too far, it had gone too far.”

But fast forward seven years, Marissa is now fully in control and her life is back on track after attending Loud and Clear classes at Warrington Youth Club.

Marissa, who now volunteers at the club, said: “I felt for the first time in months a real sense of acceptance and belonging.

“There was a time when I thought I wouldn’t be able to go to college or university but coming here gave me the confidence I needed.”

Marissa has recently completed a degree in health studies from Liverpool Hope University and now wants to use her experiences and knowledge to help others.

“I find it really fulfilling as I can intuitively pick up on their vulnerabilities. Some people believe if you can’t see a plaster then there’s nothing wrong but I know it’s more than that.”

A PENKETH mother has seen her daughter grow in confidence after years of being verbally abused by bullies.

Bev Massam refused to let her daughter, Kaitlin Lee Massam, out of sight before she joined Warrington Youth Club but now she can’t believe the difference two years has made.

Bev said: “Before we started coming here she would never have been able to get on a bus on her own without panicking but she has learnt to deal with things a lot better.”

Kaitlin suffers from ADHD, onset sleeping disorder and dyspraxia but, as she rightly points out, ‘no one is the same’.

The 14-year-old, who dreams of becoming a popstar one day, is full of energy, inquisitive and bubbly but sadly not everyone sees that, claims her mother.

Bev said: “When people watch her they just think she’s being naughty but she’s not. She just approaches everything differently to children her age.

“When she had a hearing aid in, people could see that something was wrong with her but now she no longer wears them they can’t see a problem so they think she is acting out.”

Kaitlin’s mother is adamant more must be done to combat bullying in the classroom.

Bev said: “The problem of bullying doesn’t lie with the children who Kaitlin went to primary school with but it is the children who go to secondary school who haven’t met someone with learning disabilities like Kaitlin before.

“Children must be taught in primary school about this or the same cycle of bullying will continue.”

Kaitlin, who found social situations troubling before joining Warrington Youth Club, has now come out of shell with thanks to the buddy up scheme.

Bev said: “The scheme gave Kaitlin someone to talk to and spend time with. Dannielle Mundry was great with Kaitlin and really helped her gain confidence.

“I know it’s only going to get harder as Kaitlin gets older but knowing she can come here and enjoy herself helps a lot.”