Our history

First exploratory meeting for a new youth counselling service takes place. Those present include Richard Schardt (deceased), John Ashdown, Marjorie Mason and Alan Peacock.

In its first year, No5, Reading Area Youth Counselling Service, supports with 72 clients

375 new clients came to No5

Report on the activities of the RAYC Service to the Youth and Community Section at BCC discusses the areas of work it undertakes:

• Counselling – carried out by 50 volunteers who have been carefully selected and trained. Telephone manned 24 hours a day and No5 open to callers from 9am-5pm, and 7pm-10pm\The Area Health Authority recently designated No5 as the official referral point for drug addicts and alcoholics. This is seen by the medical profession as an important service, and No5 has built up a good relationship with the various rehabilitation units in the field
• 13 Jul – BCC meeting of the Working Party established by former Youth and Community Section: Revenue Grants to Voluntary Organisations Applications 1977/78 – No5 as an organisation continues to flourish and is increasingly meeting the needs of a great number of young people
• The Director, Ken Humphreys, is involved with the birth of the British Association of Counselling, with NAYPCAS now forming the Youth Division of this umbrella organisation
• August – Reading Rock – 1500 leaflets distributed before the Festival; housed 120-150 young people each night under cover, thanks to the Baptist Church

Increasing amount of preventative and educational work – including social education groups in a number of secondary schools.

At a recent seminar in Germany the British Delegation presented the work of No 5 as a model for co-operation between voluntary and statutory sectors