Youth and Community Service
To receive from Deb Cardwell, a Youth Worker Manager from the Youth and Community Child and Young People Directorate, an update on the work of the Youth and Community Service within the area of the Central Community Forum
Minutes:
The Chair welcomed Deb Cardwell (Youth and Community Service) from Lancashire County Council.
Miss Cardwell outlined all the work that was currently being done by the Youth and Community Service in the Central area of Chorley. There was a lot of good working being done and this was down to the hard work and dedication of both officers and volunteers alike.
One project that had been successful was the creation of a Young Womens Group and a Young Mens Group on the Liptrott estate. The groups focused on Community Health issues and getting involved with projects and work within their own community.
They had tried to promote a similar scheme in the Eaves Green area, however the take up in this area had not been successful so the resources had been switched to Youth and Community services in the Chorley East area.
Miss Cardwell commended the hard work of Councillors Hasina Khan and Terry Brown for their efforts in successfully launching a Youth Club on Friday night’s at Lord Street, Chorley and it was hoped to build on this shortly by also opening the club on a Wednesday night.
In answer to a consultation exercise carried out amongst the youths of Chorley, Lancashire County Council got together with Chorley Council and the Lancashire Constabulary and were shortly due to launch a weekly disco at a Chorley nightclub. B4@Ajs would provide a fun and safe venue for 13 – 17 year olds to enjoy a night of dancing to a varied mix of music.
There was now a Young Mum’s Group for young mums aged between 16 – 21 years, living in Chorley and surrounding areas where they can have fun and make new friends in a safe and comfortable environment. The group recently had the opportunity to include their experiences of being young mums into the teen pregnancy strategy in Chorley.
Work continued to be carried out in relation to young pregnancies whereby advice and support was given on sexual health matters and the Wise Up sessions continued to be very popular.
The Lancashire Youth Service was also working with the schools. They have set up a Youth Forum that involves young people in the decision making process, encourages them to get involved in the community, manage its own resources effectively and take responsibility for their actions.
The Youth Council was involved in Local Democracy Week whereby young people where encouraged to get involved more and have their say on the issues that affect them.
The new What Now? 2008 handbook was now available for the young people of Lancashire. The literature was available to 16 – 25 year olds and included information on anything from education to leisure and from relationships to the environment.
Finally Miss Cardwell thanked everybody for their continued hard work and was sure that what they had achieved so far could be built on in the future.
Questions raised at the meeting:
(i) Councillor Anthony Gee asked why the Youth Service had pulled out so soon in the Eaves Green area of Chorley as this was an area where there was a high record of anti-social behaviour?
Response Miss Cardwell said that as far as she was aware they had had difficulty engaging with the young people in this area but that she would ask the Youth Worker for that particular area to provide a detailed response as to why this decision had been made.
(ii) A member of the public asked if a representative of the Youth Services could come to the local PACT meetings to promote the work that was being done with young people in the area?
Response Miss Cardwell said that this could be arranged and would make sure that someone attended.
(iii) Councillor Hasina Khan drew people’s attention to funding that was available through the Youth Opportunity Fund and the Youth Capital Fund. This was funding that was available to be applied for by individuals or groups of young people, aged 13 – 19 years for maximum grants of £5000. Assistance can also be provided to help fill in the forms. Recent applications had included funding for a Henna Painting Course, Uniforms and equipment for a local Boys Brigade Unit and Laptops, helping students gain qualifications. Information on this could be found on the Lancashire County Council website.
Miss Cardwell added that approval of an application is the decision of a “Youth Bank” which is a panel of young people supported by a youth worker who meet regularly to decide on whom to give the money to. A recent application had been applied for and acquired by the Coppull Youth Community group. They had successfully obtained £75,000 for a play area connected to the Community Centre. The whole process had been completely handled by the young people of Chorley.