The Warren Youth Club Summer Holiday Project
1
The Pitch
Problem statement
The Warren is the only youth facility in Hatch Warren and Beggarwood and Longacre. We have been accessed by young people from Brighton Hill and Kempshott Park and engage with 70 + every Friday and over 600 during the 6 week summer hols project. The community is able to benefit from the reduction in anti-social behaviour that follows. We feel our young people need a safe, secure environment, which also enables them to be off the street away from substances and crime involvement. Through wellbeing sessions, we support mental health on issues such as anxiety, anti-bullying and healthy relationships. We aim to raise their self-esteem and we equip them with coping strategies and youth empowerment
Solution
The project will host 11 fun filled sessions with no entry fee, so fully inclusive for everyone. Activities will include sporting and physical sessions, crafting and artistic opportunities and the team support mental wellbeing and emotional needs. The youth team prepare and cook hot food at every session, and this is devoured by the young people, many of them enjoy free school meals. Funding will support staff costs, sports equipment and ingredients to ensure the positive outcomes of the project, reducing isolation whilst increasing the leadership opportunities for young people.
Why are we best placed to deliver?
We successfully delivered youth services since 2009, including extended summer holiday projects to enrich the young people and keep them off the streets. Our team of experienced staff focus on encouraging a fully inclusive setting, boosting confidence levels, improving knowledge and awareness of what everyone can achieve and general life skills to develop the young people into becoming well-rounded and actively responsible members of the community. Staff attended mental health first aid training, to support the wellbeing needs of young people. The Warren has historically helped to reduce ASB, by providing young people with supervised, structured activities reducing litter and vandalism.
Focus Areas
Delivery plan
Budget breakdown
| staff Administration hours for shopping for food resources and preparing menu- allowed 1 hour x 11 sessions at a rate of £15 per hour | £165 |
| hot food, drink and fresh fruit meal over a 11 session summer periodx £65 per session = £715 This will enable families to save money on their food costs and their own heating rates for several hours | £715 |
| Paper Plates - Bookers 250 x case of 4 to serve hot food on , saves washing up , time wastes away from young people. | £33 |
| Sports Coaches for 2 hour session over 6 week period - £75 per session x 6 suregrip basketballs x 12 plus storage net table tennis balls TTS x60 Coated Foam Dodgeballs x 10 Ball inflator | £693 |
| Summer project staffing costs - FIVE paid trained staff working 4 hours at £15 per hour = £300 per session x 11 sessions over 6 weeks ( £3300 total but applying for support for £1394) | £1,394 |
Beneficiaries
650 people
Who will benefit
Expected impact
We aim to open every Tuesday & Friday night from 6pm until 9pm, again offering free access and hot food to support the vulnerable families. Through the wellbeing sessions the young people are becoming kinder and more tolerant and knowledgeable of needs of each other and especially those with learning disabilities, such as ADHD, anxiety and autism where young people cannot cope with daily challenges. Parents communicated their thanks after the session on bullying awareness linked to cyber bullying law, alongside their digital footprint. Real life experiences were shared to highlight the dangers of Online threats and mean, aggressive, or rude texts, tweets. They are being educated in consequences of taking part in illegal activities and the dangers of vaping and young people carrying knives in society.
Track record
The Warren Youth Club ran a school holiday project, for 6 weeks during July & August 2023, providing 428 local families and young people with a mixture of free sporting activities to entertain them and advocate healthy living. Staff aim to improve community connectivity through youth-led activities, where young people deliver events promoting social cohesion. They volunteer at community events and communicate with older people, Local Councilors, and MPs .Through partner links with the local GPs, BDBC and headteachers, we empower community services to identify any issues suffered by the young people or residents local to the Warren, ensuring the community is happy. Hampshire police including the designated Willow Team are supporting the knife crime awareness campaign. "We love the Warren as it gives our daughter who is a young carer, the chance to be herself. We appreciate the time and effort spent in planning informative sessions. My child has made new friends, from new schools"