COG Youth Services Ltd is the brainchild of my experience working for the local authority youth service and born from after a series of cuts to schools based youth work across Leicester. I accidentally began my youth work journey as a volunteer at my old secondary school after a year of globe-trotting. After returning to the UK, I struggled to get into the swing of ‘regular’ life and didn’t really know anymore about what I wanted from life. One fairly bored day, after completing some job applications, I bumped into the youth work coordinator from the secondary school, I attended. We caught up and they asked me if I wanted to help out with the drama group, I used to attend. I agreed. After that I went on to work for the local authority youth service and survived a few cuts until 2009 when all schools based youth work was stopped and the unit I worked in was closed. The rest, we could say, is history, because 17 years later I am qualified with a BA(hons) in Youth and Community Development and created COG Youth Services Ltd. The journey hasn’t been easy and I can’t see an easy road in the future, but (I know all you educators will agree with me) that is the nature of working with young people and I wouldn’t want to change a moment of it.