Economic wellbeing
Youth work can help young people achieve economic wellbeing by offering:
Also of interest...
- Personal development, education and lifeskills programmes tailored to individual need;
- Practical and educational support for the most vulnerable young people;
- Access to education for young people who have not reached their potential in school or college;
- Social, economic, educational and recreational opportunities designed to encourage social inclusion and life-long learning.
To view any case study in full, please click on the name of the organisation.
Buckinghamshire Community & Youth Engagement Intergenerational Project
Brief description, including aims and objectives:
Buckinghamshire Community and Youth Engagement (BCYE) Intergenerational Project was developed as part of its post-16 citizenship programme. It began in January 2006 as a two year pilot project in the north of the county, using the theme of World War 2 to build positive relationships between young people and older people. It uses a range of activities to enable young people and older people to share experiences and knowledge using the four themes of conflict, consequences, resolution and reconciliation. In addition to group work, field trips and community action projects, the programme included a joint residential to the site of the Normandy invasion and an educational visit to Berlin for the young people. Participants helped produce a DVD resource documenting their experience, for use as a learning and promotional tool to encourage further intergenerational activities.
The Millennium Volunteers (MV) B-Active! programme supports young people aged between 16 and 24 to volunteer through individual placements or as part of a team. It is hosted by BVSC (Birmingham Voluntary Service Council), the Centre for Voluntary Action. The project targets hard to reach groups including young people with physical and learning disabilities or mental health issues. It seeks to empower and engage young people by supporting youth-led initiatives that allow them to develop their skills and confidence while benefiting others in their community. The 'What Next?' service offers advice to Millennium Volunteers participants (MVs) on opportunities for progression into additional volunteering, employment, education or training.
Brief description, including aims and objectives
Waltham Forest award winning Defending Da Hood (DDH) project was set up in 2004 to work with ‘hard to reach’ young people and address the issues which are relevant to them whilst raising awareness of employment, health, crime and community safety. The project’s core aim is to improve the life chances of young people and reduce gang-related crime. It uses a programme of community events and activities to create an environment where young people can tackle issues such as gang culture, gun crime, teenage pregnancy and community tensions. Regular youth forums and consultation events provide young people with a platform to discuss issues of concern and influence local service provision.
Brief description, including aims and objectives
Fitzrovia Youth in Action (FYA) is a community based youth action project using sports and youth work to engage young people and support them in developing projects which benefit the community and improve relationships between people from different ethnic and age groups throughout the London Borough of Camden. Set up in 1997, its motto is 'young people creating a better community'. The projects include a community football programme, the Unity Cup anti-racist football tournament, a drug peer research project, a young residents' association, and a range of intergenerational and environmental activities. By bringing different groups together, FYA has restored pride and ownership of the local environment and helped generate a sense of community among residents.
Brief description, including aims and objectives
HAFAD is an independent organisation led by disabled people which promotes equality for disabled people living and working in Hammersmith and Fulham through providing a range of support services, campaigns and developing opportunity and inclusion. The Agenda for Youth programme, driven by the 1st Chance Project, aims to develop an integrated programme of social and learning opportunities for young disabled people, which provide support and progression pathways into the wider community. The programme includes opportunities for members to volunteer within the organisation or in the community, and to influence local services through regular consultation forums.
Brief description, including aims and objectives
Kings Norton New Deal for Communities (NDC) Youth Strategy, operating on the 3 Estates in the Kings Norton area of Birmingham, has been developed under the leadership of Birmingham Youth Service. The strategy aims to ensure that young people’s involvement in local regeneration is ‘built in, not bolted on’, with young people working for change in partnership with mainstream service providers and policy makers. The Youth Strategy Team, supported by three Peer Liaison Officers, is developing a strategy for delivering the five core Every Child Matters outcomes in consultation with local young people. The 3 Estates Youth Forum has been established to provide a mechanism for the coordinated involvement of children and young people in decision making processes, including formal links to the NDC board and the Extended Schools Cluster. Forum members take part in consultation activity and are promoting the use of Hear by Right participation standards to local organisations. To date they have developed a manifesto outlining their priorities, begun contributing to plans for local facilities and services, and taken part in recruitment processes. Once the forward strategy document is produced, they will play a more active role in taking forward recommendations arising from the ECM research.
Lambton Street Fellowship Centre
Brief description, including aims and objectives:
Situated in Sunderland, the Lambton Street Fellowship Centre has provided a broad menu of youth work opportunities for young people since it was established in 1901. In 2002, the project moved to a purpose-built centre where facilities include a computer suite, large sports hall, fully equipped boxing gym, and fitness suite. The centre supports over 2,000 young people a year and specialises in combining youth work with health and sport related activities. Young people have access to a wide range of sports, including football, trampolining, basketball, fishing and combat sports such as boxing, karate, judo, and aikido. Projects include Positive Activities for Young People, a girls’ health and lifestyle project, targeted work with young people with disabilities to enhance their employment prospects, and the U-project, which works with marginalised young people.
In 2006, Lambton Street made a successful application to v and received funding to develop part-time volunteering opportunities for young people.
Brief description, including aims and objectives
The Maypole Centre provides planned programmes of support to young people in the Druids Health area within a target age range of 11-25. It seeks to improve personal and social development and assist with entry into education, training, employment through programmes on sexual health, substance misuse, adventure and sports opportunities, alternative education, personal development, mentoring, peer education and arts development. The Centre's 'Innov8' programme provides in-depth support to young people at risk through a one-year development programme funded by the Department of Health. This funding ends in March 2007. The centre is one of few statutory youth service outlets with a contract with Supporting People to deliver housing related floating support to 40 young people at any one time, assisting them to move to independent living.
Brief description, including aims and objectives
Multi Agency Project for Young People (MAP) is an area-based regeneration initiative working with young people aged 11-21 as part of New Deal for Communities (NDC) strategy in the ABCD (All Saints and Blakenhall Community Development) area of Wolverhampton. It aims to provide activities and support for young people at risk of educational, employment and personal social exclusion by putting them at the forefront of improving the social environment in which they live as well as improving their own education and career prospects. The ABCD youth forum ‘Positive Youth Action’ group provides opportunities to influence service provision and effect change locally A range of volunteering opportunities is also available including cycle repair and maintenance work. Motiv8 learning programme and opportunities to gain formal accreditation in areas such as Junior Sports Leadership provide young people with the necessary training and support to assist in their personal and social development and become actively involved in the community.
Brief description, including aims and objectives
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust (STH) involves approximately 2000 volunteers, including 300 volunteers under 24, in the Trust's five hospitals across Sheffield. Volunteers undertake a wide range of roles within wards, departments, outpatients, welcome desks, snack bars, trolleys and transport, to complement and support the work of the Trust's paid staff. The voluntary services department includes a young people's coordinator, and a young people's project has recently been set up to recruit and support young volunteers aged 16 to 24. The project is targeting young people from socially excluded groups, to enable them to gain experience in the health sector, improve their chances of future employment, and develop their general and life skills. It will also focus on giving young volunteers a voice, so that their views and experiences can help shape STH's services.
Brief description, including aims and objectives
Signpost is a voluntary youth organisation working in partnership with schools to engage 'at risk' young people to become involved in alternative personal and social education programmes including volunteering, group work, accredited training and employment opportunities. It focuses on young people in the Manor/Castle area of Sheffield who are not thriving in mainstream education, involving them in a range of activities while building up their confidence and self-esteem. There is a strong focus on involving young people in the regeneration of the local community, and on encouraging young people to attain or improve qualifications in order to boost their life chances. Most young people stay with the project for two years, and Signpost has strong links with Connexions through a personal adviser based in the youth centre - both factors are key to its long-term success. The project is based in a multi-use centre and managed by an umbrella organisation (The Young People's Health Project).
Sports Volunteering North West Young People's programme
Brief description, including aims and objectives:
Sports Volunteering North West (SVNW), an independent regional body representing volunteers and the voluntary sector in sport and physical activity in the North West established the Young People’s Programme in 2002. Using sport as a vehicle to develop leadership skills in young people, the programme combines and coordinates the Millennium Volunteers and Step into Sport volunteer programmes. It provides signposting and supported pathways into volunteering placements and potential employment in sport for young people across the region.
Brief description, including aims and objectives
St Basils works with young people aged 16 to 25 to enable them to find and keep a home, to develop their confidence, skills and opportunities, and to prevent homelessness. It has developed a range of services for young people at risk, including providing accommodation and support for around 400 young people in Birmingham, Solihull and Redditch. It is committed to involving young people at all levels of the organisation, with young people involved in setting standards, identifying priorities and improving services, in particular through its youth advisory board. St Basils also supports the Schools Training and Mentoring Project (STaMP), through which young people are involved in peer education and mentoring on housing and homelessness issues, in order to prevent homelessness among other young people.
Brief description, including aims and objectives
Streetvibe Youth Inclusion Project is a key partner in delivering a youth strategy for Braunstone New Deal for Communities (NDC) regeneration programme in Leicester. It offers an integrated programme for young people aged 13 to 25, particularly those most at risk of social exclusion. It has three strands including a mobile youth bus/outreach facility, detached work and youth affairs. The youth affairs strand aims to involve young people in the regeneration of Braunstone estate through a involvement in a youth panel, youth forums and consultation events. The youth panel administers the Youth Action Fund, which provides local young people with small grants for activities and initiatives. A young people’s steering group helps run the project to ensure that its programme meets the needs of young people in Braunstone.
Brief description, including aims and objectives
Swindon Borough Libraries is a local partner in the Partners for Change initiative, which aims to involve young people 'at risk'in decision-making and service provision within library services in the South West of England. Between 2005 and 2008, the Swindon project targets two groups of young people aged 11 to 19: teenage parents and looked after young people. Young mothers and mothers-to-be undertake a training programme intended to encourage library use, improve literacy levels and help library services become more receptive to the needs of young people and babies. They are then offered volunteering opportunities within the library service. The looked after children project aims to use web-based methods of consultation to engage young people in plans for the new central library and encourage a sense of ownership.
Brief descritpion, including aims and objectives
Wycombe Youth Action (WYA) is a registered charity offering young people challenging opportunities for voluntary work within the local community. WYA works in partnership with a wide range of other voluntary and statutory groups in Buckinghamshire. Volunteers, who are usually aged between 14 and 25, become involved in a variety of projects, many undertaken in response to special requests from local groups. WYA provides volunteers with encouragement, advice and support throughout their voluntary work. In addition to WYA's own award scheme, Millennium Volunteers provides national recognition of contributions for 16-25 year olds. Social events also offer opportunities for young people to share experiences and celebrate achievements. Links with Wycombe Area Youth Council and UK Youth Parliament provide a mechanism for young people's views to be represented at a local and national level. WYA also serves as a Connexions point, offering young people access to information, advice and support on a range of issues and workshop sessions to develop social skills.
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