麻豆社

When you have a scar, mark or condition that makes you look different, life can be tough. You can face stares, comments and even abuse on a daily basis.

This can have a devastating, and lasting impact on mental health and wellbeing - one in three adults with a visible difference feel depressed, sad or anxious because of how they look. If you are a child with a disfigurement, it can be isolating and lonely.聽

That鈥檚 where we come in. Changing Faces is the UK's leading charity for everyone who has a visible difference. We support adults, children and families affected by visible difference, so that they can lead the lives they want.

And we know how important it is that we support people early on. If we can reach children at a young age, it means that years of unhappiness can be avoided.

More than three and a half million children and young people in the UK identify as having a visible difference and our research shows that almost half have experienced bullying at school. Yet many young people don鈥檛 get the support they need, especially when it comes to mental health.

We are the only charity providing counselling and wellbeing services for children with a visible difference and every day we see how that support is changing families lives.

By offering children and young people a safe place to talk openly, they are more likely to be confident, have the skills to cope and thrive, and ultimately live happier lives.聽聽

With your help, we can reach many more children and young people so that they can get the support they need.

I am proud to be an ambassador for the charity Changing Faces because I know how much their support means to those who have a scar, mark or condition that makes them look different. When I suddenly lost all my hair due to alopecia, my first thought was whether my young daughter would recognise her mummy. What I hadn鈥檛 realised was how much the stares, comments and abuse would affect me - even walking down the street became a nerve-wracking experience.

And it鈥檚 more common than you think. One in five people in the UK self-identify as having a visible difference that makes them look different. Changing Faces is there to support them and their families so that they can lead the lives they want.聽

Crucially, they are the only charity supporting young people with counselling and wellbeing services. Looking different can be tough, but if you are a child or teenager being taunted and bullied just for the way you look it can be impossible.聽

With your support, they can transform the lives of so many more young people living with a visible difference.

13-year-old David has a skin condition which means his skin blisters all the time and he can鈥檛 do the activities he loves, such as football or rugby, because his skin will rip or tear. David has to use daily ointments and creams to stop his skin from getting infections. His earliest memories of primary school are of being bullied by children who would call him names such as 鈥榗ornflakes, scabby and flaky鈥�.聽

His dad Michael says they were very worried: 鈥淚t was devastating to think that your kid didn't want to go to school because nobody would talk to him, nobody would go near him, nobody would touch him, nobody would want to play with him.鈥�

With the support of Changing Faces, David has regained his confidence and learnt to cope with any comments or stares. David says: 鈥淢oving up to secondary school was really good. I just started talking to people and I made a lot of new friends pretty quickly. Just because of the confidence I found from Changing Faces.鈥�

Sophie was born with a large red birthmark on her forehead. Her mum, Frances, says that hurtful comments have come from both strangers and even family who have said, 鈥榮uch a shame about that birthmark鈥�, and suggested she have it surgically removed.

Sophie first got in touch with Changing Faces when she was 11 because she wanted to try out some of the charity鈥檚 skin camouflage products. While using skin camouflage helped, as her confidence grew she chose to stop wearing it.聽

鈥淚 decided not to cover up my birthmark at secondary school because I wanted to be me. I got a few comments and stares at first, but it was when I was 13 that I was badly bullied relentlessly.聽 鈥業ron burn鈥� would be shouted at me whenever I walked past. It went on for weeks.鈥�

Working with the charity over the last few years has helped Sophie grow in confidence and cope with the stares and comments that she still occasionally gets. She now shares her experiences to help other young people.聽

Marcus was born with a cleft palate and has had over 20 operations, leaving him with facial scars.聽

When Marcus was eight years old his mum Sam became very worried: 鈥淗e went from being this bright, bubbly little boy to being very quiet and I knew something was really wrong.鈥澛�

Marcus admitted he was being bullied at school because of how he looked and was frequently called names like 鈥榮car face and Joker鈥�.聽

After contacting Changing Faces, Sam and Marcus went along to one of their parent workshops. Sam says she鈥檒l never forget that day: 鈥淢arcus got to meet other children that look different. And I got to meet the parents. What an eye opener, I wasn't the only one, and the fact that Changing Faces had already helped these other parents gave me hope that they could help us, too.鈥澛�

The charity also supported the school on how to talk about visible difference. Marcus says: 鈥淪chool life definitely got better because the bullying stopped, my classmates understood more and they just started treating me like there wasn't anything different.鈥�