Streets Youth Project Young people from all backgrounds, including NEET, homeless, socially isolated and disadvantaged will come together and discuss their issues.
Through workshops, training and volunteering they will be taken on a journey to explore their identity and place in their community and how they can make a difference to the place where they live.
In workshops, they will explore language and culture, drugs and alcohol, sexual health, stereotyping and other issues. The young people will be able to talk about how these issues affect them and gain a greater understanding of how to manage them. Peer education is an important part of informal education and the young people will be learning from each other as well as from the youth workers and workshop leaders.
The young people will receive training in valuable life skills including first aid and food and hygiene. These skills will make them more employable and also empower them in volunteering opportunities. They will also be helped to identify their skills and strengths and think about how and where these are best applied. Other training in CV and interview skills will help them make the most of the skills they have developed in seeking employment. Volunteering will give the young people a chance to test their new skills and develop their confidence. Finding that they can help others and make a difference to those around them helps them feel they are valued in their local community and raises their self-esteem.
As they develop their skills, they will be given the opportunity to plan and deliver community events giving them new skills and experiences to put on CVs. We have seen this type of youth work to be effective in the past, producing multiple positive outcomes, both the expected and some unexpected ones.
We want to see this sort of project running in Andover again.
Aims: To breakdown social isolation; To raise young people’s self-esteem and confidence; To develop young people’s soft skills – interpersonal skills, communication, team work; To give young people skills and experience to be proud of that they can apply in a voluntary or work environment.
Who: young people aged 16-24 in Andover and surrounding villages. While they may self-refer, we will be taking referrals from police, probation, social services and other organisations.
Desired outcomes: Young people in employment; young people in volunteering; young people in education or training; young people able to access help and support – benefits, housing, counselling and healthcare; young people able to act as peer-educators in drugs and alcohol, sexual health and other issues.
Partners: Andover Radio will be working with Love Andover, and Valley Leisure. It will also use services from various training providers.
Using The Good Exchange we have been granted £1000 towards this amazing project by the Peter Baker Foundation. If you would like to donate follow this link.
