‘I was a lost teenage mum – until a surprising project saved me’

‘I was a lost teenage mum – until a surprising project saved me’

Most people who completed their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award as a teenager probably have hazy, rose-tinted memories of putting up tents in the drizzle, getting lost and singing daft songs with friends to propel them up the hills. My memories are rather different – I had my four-month-old son with me. I certainly didn’t plan to get pregnant at 16. The summer before I was due to go to sixth form, I dropped out of school, and moved out of my parents’ home in west London into temporary housing an hour and a half away. They were supportive but I needed to be independent. I was with my baby’s father, trying to make it work, but he didn’t live with me. A month after my 17th birthday, I gave birth to Luke. I was besotted with him and tried my absolute best, but I was struggling; I had no idea what I was doing. Everything was a complete mess – I was living on my own, often on just £30 a week, and I hopped from place to place, first to a supported living hostel for parents, then into various flats. I moved around a lot in the first