Info for young people
What is the Baobab Centre?
The Baobab Centre is a therapeutic community based in North London for young asylum seekers and refugees. We offer free emotional and practical support to young people who have suffered from violence and abuse either in their home country or on their journey to the UK.
We provide support by offering a space where young people can work on their mental well-being and participate in the life of a community with other young people like them. Our goal is your goal: supporting you in building your own life in safety in the UK.
Baobab is a place where you can reflect on the past and on your hopes for the future. It is a safe space for you to try new things, be creative, and grow into strong, resilient adults.
“I didn’t choose to leave my family and homeland”
Young person
What do we offer?
Therapy
At Baobab, you will be allocated an individual therapist, whom you will meet with in person, once a week. You will also have the option of attending group therapy with other young people like you, and with a group therapist, taking place once a week at the Centre.
Practical support
As well as supporting you with your emotional and psychological wellbeing through therapy, you can also be allocated an individual Baobab caseworker, to provide practical support to help with things such as housing, education, accessing employment and benefits.
Community gatherings and activities
At Baobab we are a community. Therapists, interpreters, caseworkers, tutors, workshop facilitators, musicians, administrators and young people all meet regularly at community events and at community meetings, to share our successes, our difficulties and our ideas for new ways of working together and new ways of dealing with what challenges life throws at us. During these community gatherings, all members are invited to cook food, play music or dance, which are special ways that we like to share and experience one another’s cultures. We take pride in our diversity.
As a young community member at Baobab, you will also have the choice of taking part in different activities. Some take place every week, like music sessions where you can learn to play an instrument, sing and write songs, or like the art session where you can draw, paint, and create together with other young people. We’re having a film club every month, and activities during school breaks so we can challenge each other and have fun together, like ice-skating in the winter, or horse-back riding in the summer. You’ll also have the opportunity to join one of our summer retreats, where we go for a week outside London and live together, cooking, sharing, singing, discussing – growing together.
About our gatherings and activities
“Baobab helps because of the dark place in my heart”
