We believe that every young person has the right to discover what they are capable of
Now more than ever, young people need our support to believe in and realise their potential.
.jpg)
Young Bristol works with young people across Bristol aged 8 - 25 years old. We acknowledge that a young person’s background, identity, or specific circumstances can create additional challenges for them, however we believe that every young person has the right to discover what they are capable of.
This is anaspirational goal: it doesn’t happen overnight, and as an organisation we mustunderstand that a young person’s life contains much more than what happens whenwe’re around. With this in mind, we ensure that the young people we work withare: Confident, Healthy, Resilient, Responsible and Successful.
We build these pillars for young people by:
In the right environment, with the right support, and engaging activities, young people we work with build interpersonal and emotional skills, develop and sustain their passions, and feel more empowered.
For a charity to work well, it must understand who it is working for, and which challenges they face.
The vast majority of our work is openaccess, as we believe in cultivating a welcoming and integrative space forall young people. However, most of our clubs are situated in areas where socialand economic deprivation is high.
Families have been hit by an unprecedented costof living crisis, which has been especially tough for those who werealready struggling to get by. We also understand that we fill a gap foryoung people who might not have other available youth spaces or activities.Families are navigating a context of long-term austerity at a national level,within which local authority spending on youth provision has been cut by 75%since 2010.
Young people today face mountingpressures from social media, and they are still processing the social andpersonal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bristol is also witnessing adisturbing period of increased knife crime affecting young people.
What does all of this mean for Bristol's young people?
Now more than ever, young people need our support to believe in and realise theirpotential.
The bread and butter of our work is providing young people with safe, welcoming, inclusive spaces where every young person is free to be themselves, make connections, and seek support as and when they need it.
Youth clubs offer a unique environment toyoung people: we have the structure, supervision, and support that theywouldn’t find out on the streets, but without the sometimes hierarchical andrestrictive atmosphere that young people can find difficult about home orschool. We encourage accountability and shared ownership in our spaces,but young people do not feel controlled or judged when they are with us.
Our youth workers build rapport and connection with young people based on mutual respect, transparency, and trust: these relationships have healthy boundaries and allow young people to discuss or ask things that they might not feel safe or comfortable to elsewhere. Our team provide young people with positive role models and guides, who address each young person’s specific needs and aspirations.
We complement our spaces with rich, varied programmes which engage young people, introduce them to new experiences, encourage their passions, and celebrate their skills. These programmes work across out club network, and bring young people from different areas of Bristol together: breaking down barriers and forging new connections. We focus on healthy living, sports and recreation, and creative pursuits.
Through our Youth Voice programme, we help young people to become effective advocators for their own needs, and we ensure that consultation with young people informs all that we do. We also engage young people in discussion groups and workshops on key issues relevant to them, so that they feel empowered, included, consulted, and know they’re not alone.
Our skills and learning provision is based on active, free participation and enjoyment which responds dynamically to our young people’s wants and needs. This allows young people who might not gain as much from a school structure to thrive in a more relaxed and social learning environment.
These outputs lead to outcomes for young people: how they feel, what they gain, and how they develop through working with us. They contribute to a young person’s values, beliefs, knowledge and skills, and actions.
Given the nature of our work, and that each young person is unique, individual outcomes cannot always be mapped onto individual impacts. Instead, we take a wholistic approach to positive and sustainable impact for young people, forming a rich constellation of benefits that contribute to their lives.
Our work is open-ended by nature: we will always be here to support and encourage Bristol’s young people. Through our Theory of Change, we will ensure that our work has a clear, demonstrable vision which aligns with our values and goals, for every young person.
Wanting to find out more? Contact the Young Bristol team for more information on our work with young people across our Community Youth Clubs.
