A year of empowering voices
After starting up a new stammering course last year, Ian Trevor tells us how rewarding the last 12 months have been.
I was lucky enough to retire early, and with that came the gift of time — time to give something back and do things that felt meaningful. I tried my hand at a few things: volunteering at my local hospital, maintaining a woodland, and even joining a Search and Rescue team, which I eventually helped become a charity. All of this was rewarding and enjoyable, but deep down I knew where my real passion lay: helping the stammering community.
More than 20 years ago, I discovered the costal breathing technique, which helped me flip the switch from fear to excitement during speaking situations. It transformed every part of my life — not just how I spoke, but how I felt and how I lived. From that moment on, I felt a pull to help others experience the same freedom. Over the years, I've done all I can to share this breathing technique and approach to speech with others.
From that moment on, I felt a pull to help others experience the same freedom.
When I retired, the idea of setting up a charity kept bubbling away in my mind — a charity offering courses run by people who stammer, for people who stammer. After a lot of thinking, soul-searching (and, I'll admit, some dithering), I finally took the plunge in January 2024.
Once I started sharing the idea, the support was overwhelming and what began as just me very quickly became 'we'. A small group of us came together, wrote a constitution, established policies and completed the necessary legal requirements. By 11th April 2024, Empowering Voices was officially granted charitable status.
At that stage, it's hard not to wonder: is this a brilliant idea, or are we just dreamers? Thankfully, it turned out to be the former!
A fellow trustee and I visited a college to find a venue for our very first course; we thought a room for 12 people would be more than enough. My ambitions were rightly modest, but I was delighted that when we held our first course on a grey, rainy day in Peterborough last year, 27 people turned up. That day set the tone for everything that followed.
I have found it an emotional rollercoaster, with its fair share of challenges.
And what a year it has been! In just over 12 months, I have helped to run two courses in Peterborough and one in Bath, with another planned for Sheffield this November. I have found a wonderful sense of fulfilment in helping our fantastic community of brave people who stammer reach out for assistance. In addition to holding courses, I have contributed to the essential work of providing ongoing support to many people who stammer. There is nothing more fulfilling than helping someone who wants to work on their speech to reduce their fear of speaking.
Steep learning curve
Of course, setting up a new charity also means learning the ropes: Charity Commission returns, annual reports, accounts, trustee meetings and AGMs. It's been a steep learning curve for me and the other trustees. Still, with determination and tenacity we have achieved something quite incredible: a functional charity that has started to help dozens of people who stammer through our courses after little more than a year.
Has it all been easy? Not at all, I have found it an emotional rollercoaster, with its fair share of challenges. But the joy of seeing someone begin to change their relationship with their speech, to speak with more freedom and confidence, and for the fear to fade, makes it worthwhile.
Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, my fellow trustees and I are filled with gratitude to everyone who has supported us so far. These are people who stammer, helping others who stammer. We're creating something that will help many more people who stammer across the UK, which can only be a good thing.
Visit the Empowering Voices website for more details. It is one of several courses out there for people who stammer. To see the full range of options, see the Adult Stammering Courses list.
To read more about costal breathing, see Adult Options Explained.
Read more Your Voice articles.
Would you like to share your experiences? See Submit Something For The Site or email editor@stamma.org for details.
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