Brendan helps open door to new life (From Stroud News and Journal)

Brendan helps open door to new life

FROM school bully to saviour of lost souls, Brendan Conboy has more than made up for his anti-social teenage years. The committed Christian started The Door youth centre in Stroud 12 years ago and has since put many troubled youngsters on the right path. Will Saunders went along to The Door to find out more about this remarkable man.

POSING for photographs in the basement of The Door youth centre, Brendan Conboy stands in front of a wall covered with messages from hundreds of teenagers and young people.

"It's a part of history, this wall", he explains."It's been there for 12 years and just about every youngster who has been here has put their name on it."

As leader of The Door since it opened in 1991, Brendan, 42, has known them all. A cheerful, supremely approachable man, he somehow manages to remain relaxed and easy-going during our meeting, despite the fact that he has shoe-horned it into an increasingly busy schedule.

The centre was set up as a place where young people from Stroud can socialise safely. It also offers a confidential counselling service, entirely run by volunteers, where youngsters can discuss their problems and learn to face them.

Sitting in the counselling room above The Door's coffee bar, Brendan outlined what a difference the volunteers make to the centre.

"This place couldn't exist without volunteers, and I wouldn't be here without them. It's a team effort."

Brendan believes there is another reason for the continuing success of The Door. It is essentially a Christian centre, and although he insists they don't "fly the flag", there, he strongly believes that his faith is a major factor in his ability to help youngsters.

"Christianity is about a lifestyle. It's about how we live our lives and how we follow Jesus every day,with our actions and words. But that doesn't mean we go bashing it into people.

They see something in us that is different.If someone asks 'what does it mean to be a Christian?' then we answer their questions but we don't force it down their throats."

In the 12 years since Brendan created the centre together with friend Andy Morris, he and a team of volunteers have helped young people deal with a whole spectrum of issues, from arguments with parents to more serious problems such as sexual and physical abuse, drug addiction and self-harm.

Through the centre Brendan has been able to provide a welcoming and caring environment where youngsters can find a friendly ear and he insists that The Door is open to everyone.

"These people have just been misunderstood," he said. "They don't know who they are or what they want. We can help them with that and help them to move on."

The centre offers training in practical skills such as IT and Woodworking for individuals who have 'slipped through the net.' It aims to give them some sense of direction and achievement in an increasingly competitive world.

"I love to see young people develop, and know I have added to their development.

To see someone who has not done well in their exams, or has had problems in school, getting back on track is so satisfying."

Brendan confesses has not always been so dedicated to aiding his fellow man. As a boy he attended Marling School in Stroud and was frequently involved in bullying.

"I wasn't a very nice person at school. I was a bully, worse than a bully. I used to victimise people, even assault them," he said. This behaviour eventually resulted in him being expelled from school at the end of year 11.

"The headmaster called me into his office and told me I wasn't coming back next year,"said Brendon.

After this early setback Brendan worked for a time at an engineering firm in Brimscombe and then as a DJ in Cornwall. By the mid 1980's he was running a successful building practice and at one point had 27 people working under him.

But all ended during the housing recession, leaving Brendan searching for the missing part of his life.

"It was a turning point", he explained. "I looked at myself and thought 'my life is a mess'.

"No-one is born a Christian, you have to accept Jesus into your life," said Brendan. I believe there's a God-shaped vacuum within all of us, and only God can fill it."

With his new-found faith, Brendan started working for the church in 1987, until he Andy had the idea to renovate an old building on Gloucester Street and turn it into a youth cafe.

The Door is the product of that ambition, and it continues to expand. Today The Door employs two part-time youth workers and numerous volunteers. It has counsellors working with three local schools, and Brendan is keen to point out that the work of The Door extends further than the building itself.

"The coffee bar is merely the hub of the wheel. Off this are several spokes, including our work in schools and with the church."

The annual Undiscovered Youth Talent Contest, which took place in the Subscription Rooms recntly, is another of the spokes on Brendan's wheel.

Every year the show has got better. This year was infinitely better than last year, and next year will be a hundred per cent better again,"said Brendan.

A musician himself, Brendan believes that getting involved in music can help youngsters develop.

"Singing is a great confidence tool," said Brendan.

Another of Brendan's passions is mountain climbing. In the past ten years he has climbed mountains all over the world, sometimes with youngsters from The Door in tow.

With great delight he describes watching the sun rise from the summit of Mount Killimanjaro in Africa.

"Everything was pitch black, totally dark, but then this orange light just seemed to flow towards us over the plain. It was like a drop of ink spreading out in water.

It all happened so quickly though, one minute it was pitch black then within five minutes the sun was up. It was a fantastic sight."

With his boundless enthusiasm, Brendan Conboy continues to expand the project he created, providing a refuge for youngsters from all backgrounds. As more and more names are added to those on the basement wall, more young people are enjoying what The Door has to offer. Summing up his philosophy,

Brendan said: "It's important to make people feel wanted and that they belong. Too often they feel pushed away and rejected by society. Here we accept all young people for what they are and who they are."

The Door is situated on Gloucester Street, opposite the Painswick Inn project, and is open young people aged 11-25.

It is open from 3-5pm Mon to Fri, 7.30-10pm on Friday Evening and 11.15am-5pm on Saturdays. For more information call: 01453 756745