Case Studies
CASE STUDY:
‘Safe Surroundings’ projects.
Safe Surroundings projects ask young people to consider
the issues from their own personal and collective experience
and then encourage them to find a way of changing things for
the better. Change could be personal, such as building-up an
individual’s confidence or improving their self-esteem,
but participants are also encouraged to identify and address
communal issues, and become part of the solution instead of
being seen as part of the problem.
CASE STUDY:
Involving young people in Somerset
A couple of youth workers in Somerset were undertaking a
village profile exercise when they came across a group of
young people hanging out in the bus shelter. After a series
of meetings and discussions with one of the youth workers,
the young people eventually became involved in negotiating
with the parish, district and county councils. The purpose
was to see how a vacant site on the edge of the village
could be converted into a multi-purpose recreation ground
linking a skate area, cycle track, and playground. Apart
from this very tangible benefit of an additional community
facility, a key outcome has been the change in public
perception towards this group; having seen them as a bunch
of ne’er-do-wells they now regard them as responsible
young citizens.
CASE STUDY:
Empowering young Bangladeshi women in London
In North London, a group of young Bangladeshi women has
undertaken a safety audit of the Somerstown estate in South
Camden where they live. Participating in the audit has
enabled them to become more aware of their environment and
given them the confidence to act on some of the issue which
concern them.
CASE STUDY:
Reaching out to young people in Knowsley
The Knowsley
Young Citizens Bulletin Board is a web site especially
designed for young people where participants can sound off
about anything about the area or their circumstances. The
site is monitored by a group of local peers, but still
enables the council and local CDRP to get a handle on some
of the issues concerning young people in the area and then
respond to them.
CASE STUDY:
Calderdale and Kirklees Young People’s Police Forum
A Young People's Police Forum has been set up in
Calderdale and Kirklees to encourage dialogue between Police
and young people in the area on relevant Policing issues.
CASE STUDY:
Communicating with Angry Young Men
The Trafford Connexions service launched the Angry Young
Men project in January 2003 to train Personal Advisers and
other public sector workers to work more constructively with
disaffected young men.
It gives participants the tools to deal with aggression,
threats, negative relationships and conflict, and find ways
of getting the Angry Young Men in question to address their
anger and find more positive ways of communicating.
CASE STUDY:
Giving young people a voice with Youth FM radio
UK Youth has been working in conjunction with the Youth
FM radio programmes to involve young people in debates, and
in compiling programmes that address some of the issues that
lead to them feeling more vulnerable. This has given young
people the opportunity to discuss and explore the issues in
a non-threatening manner, whilst also helping to boost the
confidence and self esteem of the participants.
CASE STUDY:
Home Watch in Llanelli
The Home Watch group on an estate in Llanelli, South
Wales were fed up with high levels of crime and vandalism on
their estate and decided that the scheme should tackle the
roots of the problem. They were concerned about young people
on the estate who were 'hanging around, looking for things
to do'. After raising funds from sponsored walks and
football matches, the scheme purchased four disused mobile
offices from the local police and moved them onto the estate
and transformed them into a community centre. Now more than
280 young people aged 5-25 benefit from activities at the
after-school club and youth club - from computer training
and leisure activities to alcohol and drug education. New
classes are also starting for local adult residents.
Local police say there has been a 50% reduction in crime on
the estate which has a large elderly population and high
rates of unemployment. The Home Watch scheme has helped to
renew community spirit on the estate. The scheme hopes to
expand its work at the centre - involving more of the local
residents, particularly reducing fear of crime among the
elderly and continuing to bring the community together.
CASE STUDY:
Kent Safe Schools Initiative
The Kent Safe Schools initiative was set up in 1998 to
encourage secondary school pupils to identify problems that
affect them in terms of crime and safety and then support
them to develop a long-lasting, pupil-led approach to
tackling these problems. At the same time, the local Safe
Schools Partnership also offers training and support to
schools that want to develop integrated peer-led approaches
to dealing with bullying, vandalism, racism, drugs and other
issues, including peer mentoring and peer-led education. The
initiative has recently been extended to primary schools as
well.
The initiative was evaluated in 2001, and it was found
that as well as reducing the problems identified by the
pupils, there have also been many other useful effects.
These have included reducing truancy and social exclusion,
reducing other types of crime and nuisance in the school,
and improving relations between pupils. The key to the
project’s success is that it develops young people's
skills to solve the problems themselves.
For more information contact Jill Wiles, Policy and
Service Development Officer, Kent County Council. Tel: 01622
694 716, email: jill.wiles@kent.gov.uk
|
