Youth Information Shop
Linda's Beacon Project
In 1999 Linda moved closer to home and set up the Youth Information Shop in Swadlincote using her MA research to guide the project's development. This multi agency 'holistic help' project was managed through the Derbyshire County Council Youth Service and funded by external Single Regeneration Budget funding for ex-coalfields and was located in donated Methodist premises.
Linda won an additional half million pounds grant within the first year to double the size of the venue and kit out a fully operational doctors surgery, counselling room and creche for a young parent's project. The project was highly acclaimed by local politicians and was built on community cooperation and support from social services, health services, police, drugs and housing services and local council. Linda's drugs work was called a 'beacon of good practise' by the Home Office.
Linda was very proud of setting up and running this project. She often called it her 'baby' and was deeply sad to finish due to her illness and management issues. The quality of staff was wonderful and the committment and dedication from all of the young staff team was exemplary. Training and support sessions were considered crucial to keep the team spirit and energy going, and each face-to-face session had a warm up time and a debrief to ensure that issues raised would be discussed, explored and learned from. The lives of many, many young people across the area were changed for the better and in subsequent years many older young people reminisce happily about their times in the 'Yoofie'!
Being able to mould a project from the beginning meant that Linda was able to put into practise her own ethics and protocols learnt over the years of work in Derby City health projects, drugs projects, Ilkeston Lifestyles as well as her MA dissertation research. This meant that her strong belief that positive leadership with young people would always reap a dividend of good behaviour could be fully explored and proved to be correct. Many different groups and gangs of young people attended happily under one roof, and kept their problems outside the door. Sometimes this sadly was only just outside where one lad was punched by a drug dealer, but the general attitude was that the Yoofie was safe for everyone, which the workers had worked hard to achieve. Linda (and other loyal workers) put long hours into the project without counting the cost, and reaped the benefit to the lives of countless young people.
Vision Statement
The Youth Information Shop will assist the young people of South Derbyshire to enhance their opportunities and move towards realising their potential
'The Youth Information Shop firmly believes that young people are an oppressed group in modern society. Young people statistically are more vulnerable to crime than any other group, and have little power to challenge when their rights are infringed. It is possible for a young man to die for his country before he is allowed to vote.'
'Our philosophy is that young people need a space away from all the strains and cares of society where they can be themselves and explore their futures and personal development. For some people the transition to adulthood is easy and fun, exploring all that life has on offer, and we aim to find new experiences, and widen the scope and horizons of positive young people such as these, as well as offering a respite for them to assimilate their experiences.' From the 1999 AGM report
Cooperative multi-agency working is crucial for the holistic care of young people
Linda is passionate about multi-agency work making a vital difference in a community. 'There is such wastage in competitive working whereas cooperative working multiplies people's strengths and energy. Agencies should support each other to work with the same clientele, and work to each agency's strengths to provide a genuine holistic care for young people and their families. No agency can work in isolation and provide all that young people need therefore isolationist work is either arrogant or insecure and has no place in professional world or person led work.'
Achievements
Below is a list of the main areas we have worked in addition to the four open sessions in which young people can come and bring a range of issues that need dealing with - not least of all how to score a goal in FIFA, making music on the DJ computer programme, or trying out their driving theory on the driving programmes.
Helping young people organise their own trips out, to Waterworld, Paintballing, Storm etc.
Arranging unusual educational experiences e.g. visiting Liverpool prison to see a drugs play created and acted by prisoners
providing a safe, friendly environment for young people to come
Child Protection Cases with Social Services
Work joint with HMYOI Glen Parva (Young Offender's Institution), and visits to support our young people 'housed' there.
Police 'talkback' session with young people, Inspector and Community policeman to promote better understanding of youth and community issues
One to one support of young people, including crisis action - occasionally giving meals to those in distress or homeless.
Advocacy on behalf of young people with other agencies, including schools and social services
Parent support for parents of teenagers struggling to cope (within our confidentiality boundaries).
School work in all 3 local secondary schools, taking assemblies, providing Personal and Social Education classes and participating in Health Roadshow days.
Facilitating multi-agency meetings for those working with teenage parents
Participating in multi-agency projects run by other agencies e.g. SDDC Media project; Youth Strategy Group etc.
Winning an award at a motor project event.
Winning an award at an army training event.
Enabling young people to pass driving theory tests with computer programmes
Having our own football team in YIS colours
Self-esteem work for vulnerable young people
Improving literacy through fun computer and board games
Drugs information and support through comprehensive training for all staff
Support with form filling, and chasing Social Security
Help with housing, both through Housing Aid, and youth workers
Community awareness raising of the YIS and young people's issues through local talks and community events such as the District Council community meetings and the police liaison meetings
Working as part of area initiatives such as the Southern Derbyshire Working Party on Teenage Pregnancy
Giving advice and supporting local voluntary groups in their work with young people
Supporting a young parent to bid successfully for the Family Learning Millennium Fund to provide a year long project supporting young parents, (HYPA - Helping Young Parent's Achieve). This young parent is now an official Millennium Volunteer, and received an award from the Millennium Commission.
HYPA young parents' project to support young parents, with fully equippped and staffed creche.
Receiving an award from SRB and doubling our size to provide much needed specialist partnerships on site, including a fully equipped medical clinic for young people staffed by both a doctor and nurse, counselling sessions, aromatherapy and massage sessions run by Occupational health services. Young people heped with the planning and decor of the extended project, such as decorating the glass windows under the guidance of our extremely talented worker Nikki Fenwick
Supporting community events such as the Lights Switching On in November, the Festival of Leisure in June, and the Rosliston Forestry Centre events
Creating educational films on topical subjects for young people including young parenting and drugs issues.
The above are just part of the day to day work that the Youth Information Shop has taken on this last year. The work of the Shop has been held up as Good Practise by a number of statutory organisations, both locally and County wide, including visits from several North Derbyshire projects both Health Authority and Youth Service to look at our service.
To read the first AGM report which gives a perspective on the work ethos, please click here:
