This week Young Bristol is celebrating Youth Work Week, an annual celebration of all things youth work between Monday 4th – Sunday 10th November 2024. This year, The National Youth Agency’s Youth Work Week explores, ‘A right to youth work for all – delivering positive futures for young people’.
This years theme highlights the many ways that youth work spaces are made accessible to all, enabling young people to explore and celebrate their own identity and values.
At Young Bristol we are committed to continuing our Mission and our strategic investment, providing safe places, a supportive environment, and activities and opportunities which support young people to feel empowered, included and not alone
Providing safe places for Bristol’s young people
Our work provides young people with safe, welcoming, inclusive places where they can be themselves, build friendships, and access support when they need it most.
Our Youth Clubs and services continue be at the core of communities, giving young people the safety and support that they cannot find on the streets, acting as the bridge between home and school life.
- 1,345 young people were supported through our open access sessions throughout 2023 – 24.
- Our 9 community venues in North, East and South Bristol continued to open their doors up to 4 nights per week.
- During 2023 – 24, 16 communities were positively impacted by our work, with 3 new communities supported by Young Bristol who had not previously received any youth services.
- We’ve invested £528,280 into capital improvements at a number of our community venues since 2022; making improvements that would help to create environments that young people can thrive in.
Championing youth participation
It is vital as an organisation that we continue to keep young people at the heart of everything that we do.
Through consultations, regular discussions, workshops and events, we give young people the opportunity to discuss and share their issues and ideas, inform programme development, raise awareness of young peoples’ needs and challenge stereotypes.
We continue to encourage and support young people to volunteer across our programmes; where they can gain new experiences, develop their skills and empower them to succeed
During 2023 – 24, we encouraged and supported 27 young people to volunteer. Young Leaders helped at their Youth Clubs and trainees from our Outdoor Employment Programme supported our Gig Club.
Here are some stories from young people who are Young Leaders at our Youth Clubs:
Eli, age 16, has overcome a number of challenges prior to joining The Grove. Prior to joining the club, Eli spoke very little English.
Despite the challenges he has faced, Eli has shown exceptional dedication and commitment to our Club and has been a great role model for other young people.
Eli completed his Young Leader training in February 2024. He now actively volunteers two days a week at the club, where he uses the skills he learned to help and support younger members by teaching and coaching them how to play football.
Gracie, age 15, has overcome so many hurdles presented to her and has grown in ways we could never have imagined.
Despite these challenges, Gracie has integrated incredibly becoming a key member at BS14 Youth Club and strives to maintain her own mental health and as Gracie looks to the future, she dreams of becoming a Youth Worker after completing service in the Army.
With Gracie growing as a natural leader, the team at BS14 Youth Club arranged for Gracie to begin volunteering as a Young Leader at the Club’s Junior sessions.
We continue to prioritise young people as we look to the future. To find out more about our work with young people and the opportunities we provide click here.
