A charity which supports families recovering from domestic abuse and children with behavioural difficulties has become the first organisation in Merton to receive the London Youth Silver Award.
Award-winning team: (L-R) Jade Edwards (17), Amy Shepherd (16), Dylan Gibbs (14), Michelle Quayle (CEO), Sarah Holguin (head of services) and Tony Spalding (head of youth)
Michelle Quayle, 32, founded Personal Independence Support in 2010, three years after escaping from a violent relationship and going to live in a refuge with her three children.
Now a trained domestic violence support worker and qualified teacher, of St James’ Road in Sutton, she said: "I was the victim of very serious domestic abuse and my eldest suffered serious effects from that.
"When he was at a mainstream school there was a lack of understanding about why he couldn’t be in a mainstream school."
Based in St Mark's Road, Mitcham, Personal Independence offers support groups, art therapy and conflict management sessions to women and young people with behavioural issues caused by low level mental health or emotional distress.
The charity's ethos is to remove labels attached to different behaviours and it has five young people on its management board to make sure their generation's views are represented.
This month it was recognised for its high quality services with the silver award from London Youth - a network of 400 youth organisations across the capital.
Personal Independence has so far reached more than 300 people, through its direct action, therapy sessions and school visits.
It is not funded by the council, but has received £20,000 from Circle Housing Merton Priory since 2011 through its community grant scheme.
The organisation's latest project was a residential boot camp that provided therapy, sports, behaviour regulation and discipline within a nurturing and caring environment.
One young person on the camp said: "I felt happy because no-one told me I was rubbish at anything."
Ms Quayle said: "We are training young people who have been targeted as challenging and we are looking to the family as a whole.
"Usually, when a child is misbehaving at school it is a cry for help.
"Through behaviour management therapy, we get them to understand who they are and why they behave that way."
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