On the 23rd April 1994, I began work on what was then called the Young Women's Project. In a tiny corner at Dundee Rape Crisis premises, the very unpopular project was born. 2 name changes have happened, males finally included after a long fight, 15 long years passed and where now are we at? I think we are now finally at the beginning of trying to get everyone else to be like us. Here's to the next 15 years. Thank god I will be able to pass the work to others by then....I hope!

The centre is almost as old as me :) we were laughing today at how old laurie will be fifteen years from now!

On a more serious note i think now is as good a time as any to say a big thank you to laurie, im sure i speak on many's behalf. Without Laurie there would have been hundreds of young people 'slipped through the net'. She has worked night and day to keep the centre going and to help support countless young people. The VIP project has been received by thousands of young people (and now oaps), some of these young people might now have a chance knowing that people were there to listen and care. Without Laurie the world would be a lot less brighter a place. Even us workers go to Laurie if we have a problem and feel a million times better after speaking to her. "Learn to listen to Laurie" was a motto Jerri and myself came up with a few months ago (we still haven't received the funding to go around the world preaching it lol). So ye, thanks Laurie :)

on the 23rd of april 1994 i began going to what was then known as the young womens project. in a tiny corner of the young womans project, in a tiny corner of dundee rape crises center, where the very unpopular project was born, i was sat playing with lego and toy horses, being dragged from place to place to help this project get off its feet. 15 LONG years have passed and where are we now? i'm still sitting in the corner playing with lego and toy horses! at least now i'm not made to sit and teach 30 womens aid workers how to play 'how many cookies in the cookie jar' and stand up and do a speech at every conference and event that the office has, (in fact, i'm never asked now lol).

i would just like to say a massive 3 cheers to laurie. if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't of helped the 114450 we have on record or the thousands others who we didn't count up. i also know that in some way you've helped every person you've met and who has worked beside you. your an inspiration to us all and one day i hope i can drag my kids round to work and see them sitting in a corner somewhere playing with lego and horses while i change lives like you do

15 years ago i used to sit reading a famous 5 book with an old electric heater blowing on my feet whilst my mum tried to help all the 'grown up' 15 year old girls that i liked (I was 8 lol!)

whilst mum worked, jerri played, and i read, some of the evil DRCC workers plotted against me because i have a hooha instead of a heehee! how far we have come lol!

i also vaguely remember being made to stay outside Womens Aid for the above reason when i was about 7, so if anyone ever wonders why i hate them so much now you know!

so it feels rather good now that i am able to call places and people like that and discuss what sort of training we can offer them LMAO!

yep, things sure have changed, if you havent seen it then i dont think you can truly understand how far we have come and how difficult it has been for laurie (and some other champions) to get us there, three cheers? HIP HIP!

K-Dog

HOORAY

Hip Hip

HOORAY

Hip Hip

the women's aid thing was the same but different. funny how kids remember it. we should write a book together. problem was that as well as being involved in the young women's project as it was at the time, i was also a director of dundee womens aid. now that was something else. i don't think my kids ever worked out the difference between the groups. they really hated men, the groups, not the kids, but they hated everyone it seemed. 15 years on, womens aid is becoming part of the establishment, 18u is public enemy number 1. at last, we do something right!

HOORAY!!!!