Creative Youth Network Impact Report 2017

Impact Report

2017

4280 young people 25% 3 25%

Impact

come from Black and Minority Ethnic Backgrounds (BAME)

12051

positive outcomes and destinations

a young person is 3 times more likely to reach their potential when they have a long-standing relationship with us

2361

sessions held

30128

attendances

increase in the number of young people we’ve worked with

We are here for all young people, for as long as they need us...

The difference we made in 2017 We believe every young person should have the opportunity to reach their own potential, irrespective of their background or circumstances. Our mission is to provide young people with the support and opportunities they need to make that happen.

In 2017 we worked with 4280 young people, an increase of 25% from the year before. Each one of these young people is unique. They are all experiencing barriers of some kind that are preventing them from flourishing.

Many of the young people we work with are experiencing marginalisation and complex issues such as homelessness, substance abuse, poor physical and mental health, poor educational attainment or behavioural issues. They might be in care (or care leavers), from a low income household, from a BAME background, carers or primary wage earners for their household.

Often the barriers young people face are interlinked and create a vicious circle. Without intervention, a young person may struggle to break the cycle and reach their potential. For example, a care leaver may suffer with behavioural and psychological issues due to a traumatic childhood. In turn, this has led to poor educational attainment, with only a few GCSEs. The individual will leave care at 18 and potentially go into supported accommodation, with no support networks and a complex state system to navigate. Supported accommodation is often targeted by people who prey on vulnerable young people, such as drug dealers and child sexual exploiters.

It’s easy to see how a young person would struggle to overcome these barriers alone, and how hard it is to break away from these circumstances.

Kayla’s Heroes

Our key to success Relationships are at the heart of what we do.

A good relationship will improve the outcome of any intervention, support or activity.

At their best, these relationships are like a great friendship: someone to comfort and listen to you when things are tough and someone to support and encourage you when you need to move forward.

Nothing - nothing - has more impact on the life of a child than positive relationships The National Centre for Youth Impact Institute Report 2017

It’s a relationship that straddles trust, support, reliability, inclusivity, open mindedness and fairness.

It is this relationship that’s always the key to our success. It helps us identify issues and barriers.

It enables us to offer guidance. It helps us offer the right interventions.

It helps us spot changes in behaviour, which can be a sign of social and mental wellbeing.

Young people who stay with us for longer get better outcomes overall.

12 3

sessions is the average time a young person stays with us

a young person is 3 times more likely to reach their potential when they have a long-standing relationship with us

I am Kayla, I love to do gymnastics and be in school.

I have brown eyes, fair brown hair and skin that shows a combination of Liverpool and Jamaica. I love making friends and trying new things, I’ve been like this my whole life.

I was brought up around boys, 5 brothers in total, so I had to adapt. I liked cars and combat figures because I had to. Not forgetting my 3 sisters, I braid their hair every morning and teach them how to be polite. I have 8 siblings in total, wow! On a good day, our house is fun. On an okay day, it’s busy. On a bad day, it’s just loud.

in the cold breeze, the leaves ripple up into the air and the sun shines down on my skin.

I take the path through the local park, and that’s when I see my destination: Hillfields Youth Club. It doesn’t look like very much but from the inside there’s a whole lot more to it.

My favourite day is Wednesday, it’s Women Wednesday (girls’ football, yes!). I get to spend the day with my favourite teacher. And most important, I get to hang around at youth club.

The first thing I see when I walk in is the smile on my friends’ faces. Then I look at the people who really take care of me, Roisin, Richard and Harriet. Roisin is generous with curly black hair that makes her look like she’s as fierce as a panther. There’s also Rich, the music man, who led me through my arts award, which seemed like a mountain I couldn’t climb at the start.

And Harriet, the kind lady with cool trainers who’s amazing at sorting out problems.

When I get home from school, I get changed into a comfortable outfit. Then I walk there with Fabian, my brother. On the walk there we see the trees shivering

Even though other people don’t think they’re heroes, to me, they definitely are. When I see them I picture them wearing capes and flying round rescuing people.

Youth Club is run by heroes.

My heroes.

Youth Club is an open space where we can have fun and play, where we can share our emotions and feel comfortable. Youth Club is safe.

Helping young people through creativity

Maisie’s Story Maisie started on a creative course when she was out of education, having suffered with her mental health. She was in a difficult situation, but we recognised how being in a creative environment helped her flourish.

Maisie went on to find her voice through art, achieved two arts award qualifications, and grew in confidence and understanding of what she could do. Since then, Maisie has taken every opportunity we challenged her with.

She’s leading music projects as Temple Records’ Label Manager, stage managed one of our productions and now she has completed a course for emerging young festival producers.

On top of all this, Maisie has gone back to college and later this year will get her A levels.

Young people can use creativity to help them in many aspects of life.

Sadly, good creative programmes are not accessible for many marginalised young people. Young people from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds often struggle to enter the creative and tech industries. The need to network and build a portfolio of work means barriers to entering long term careers are often prohibitive.

Maisie is very humble and always helps other young people. We wanted her to see how amazing her achievements have been, so we nominated her hard work to the Bristol Young Heroes Awards, where she won the Arts and Culture award.

“I want to thank you also for having unconditional faith and belief in me and my abilities. The projects and courses that I have been involved in with Creative Youth Network have shown me how accessible the arts world really can be.

“My experience with Creative Youth Network has made me realise I can absolutely carve my way through life aside from the traditional route of education. It’s given me faith in the future that I will find work that is worthwhile and that I love doing.”

497

In 2017 our Creative Programme offered a variety of programmes to support young people in all aspects of their lives. We offered:

The impact of all of the projects I’ve been involved in has made me who I am today, and quite frankly, made my life more fulfilling and worthwhile.

•

Arts therapy to some of our young people suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

•

Free creative courses for young people to explore subjects like film and fashion in disadvantaged areas

•

Opportunities to take part in our live productions

•

Mentorship and networking opportunities with professional artists and creatives

•

Employment, commissions and business start-up support for marginalised young people interested in artistic careers

•

The opportunity for disadvantaged artists to share their work with the public in our city centre gallery

•

Free studio space for young emerging artists from disadvantaged backgrounds

•

Projects based in our youth centres, where professional artists use creative methods to help young people explore the issues affecting them

young people on our creative programme (28% increase from 2017): • • •

23%

17% not in employment, education or training 61% disadvantaged 20% BAME

achieved Arts Awards

It was honestly the most rewarding and enriching experience I’ve ever had.

Helping young people with one to one support

Charlie’s Story

We offer one to one time with a youth worker for any young person that might need it. We work to ensure we are a trusted person for the individual.

Charlie (not her real name), aged 12, was referred to our Wellbeing Team for anxiety.

From here, we develop an action plan where we monitor progression and help the young person set achievable goals. These focus on breaking down the barriers that a young person faces and building resilience against them for the future.

She was scared to talk in front of others, worried that she would be judged or laughed at. She experienced panic attacks, avoided social situations and was petrified to ask teachers for help in case they thought she was stupid. Her opinion of herself was really low, affecting all aspects of her life.

As part of this process, we have trained youth workers who specialise in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to support those with low to moderate mental health needs. We also work with specialist partners to help with issues such as homelessness and substance abuse.

179

took part in our one to one programmes

225

For some young people, the process is relatively short: they might have issues at home and need a bit of support to resolve them. For others, the process is complex and can take years. However, we know this dedicated time is invaluable to many of our young people. It’s what sets us apart from other interventions: time, patience and relationships.

positive outcomes in one of the following areas: • their mental or physical health • their knowledge or rights • their communication skills and behaviours • their self confidence

Though nervous, Charlie agreed to meet with a Wellbeing Practitioner at her home. Together, we decided on a plan of flexible one to one sessions to fit around her needs. From the first meeting, we helped her understand that many young people have similar experiences. That she was not alone was a powerful realisation for Charlie.

We supported Charlie with cognitive behavioural therapy techniques, even playing a specially designed computer game together which she really enjoyed.

Over three months, Charlie’s beliefs about herself and what others thought of her began to change, and she grew in confidence. Having someone believe in her meant she began to believe in herself again.

Now Charlie has the lifelong tools to overcome her anxiety so it no longer stands in her way. With lots of support and encouragement, she has built confidence to take steps she previously wasn’t able to, like talking to new people and asking for help at school. She is taking our theatre course and has even taken part in a production, speaking on stage in front of a large audience.

With her new-found skills and self-awareness, Charlie can continue to blossom and grow.

“Heidi is an amazing therapist. She’s kind and understanding and I can express myself around her.

She explained all of the tasks very well and I like how she used stories to help me come to terms with my feelings, but at the same time help me challenge them.”

I feel like my voice matters and I’m not nothing. Now I’m sure that I’m valued as a person and a student.

Daniel’s Story

Helping young people in our youth clubs

Daniel (11) lives with his grandparents and is home schooled. He came to Hillfields Youth Club looking for a new place where he could make friends.

Daniel was very quiet at the beginning and found it hard to talk to young people his own age. He was very open with us about his feelings and we paid great attention to his needs when he came to the club.

Together we focused on activities to improve Daniel’s mental health and have fun at the youth club. Over time, Daniel built really good relationships with the staff and young people.

We organised a residential trip and Daniel was brave enough to take part. At the beginning of the trip Daniel was shy, but after some encouragement from his grandparents and us, he went for it! Daniel had never been away from his grandparents before, so this was a real milestone for him.

He had a great time, got up and spoke in front of people (a first) and engaged in workshops. His grandparents were thrilled to see him with his friends and enjoyed the short break it’s afforded them.

We’re very proud of Daniel for coming such a long way since we met him last year. He now has friends, he’s improved his communication skills and relationships, and he’s developing his independence. Our youth clubs offer the social, supportive environment many young people need to establish important relationships in childhood and adolescence.

We have four Creative Youth Network clubs and we work in community areas across Bristol, B&NES and South Gloucestershire.

One of our youth clubs boasts being one of the most popular in the UK, with a typical night having 150 attendees. We hold events for different age groups and different types of activities. It’s not unusual for us to be cooking fajitas one night and talking about cyber bullying another.

This year young people have been talking to us increasingly about self confidence and self image - particularly in a world heavily influenced by social media. Also topics that come up a lot are male identity, healthy eating, smoking, housing issues and violence.

24 975 6 2.6

young people per night (average)

sessions held in 2017

areas across Bristol

outcomes gained on average by a young person over a year

6388

positive outcomes in one of the following areas: • their mental or physical health • their knowledge or rights • their communication skills and behaviours • their self confidence

Romi’s Story

Helping with careers and education

When we met Romi (20) in August 2017, she was struggling with anxiety and a lack of self-confidence.

Young people are 3 times more likely to be unemployed than any other age group. We’ve worked with 197 young people who are not in education, employment or training, 96 of whom are care leavers.

Throughout our employability work, young people tell us the main problem with progressing into a career is opportunity and support from someone with experience. Our success – especially for those who are hard to reach, like care leavers – results from ongoing help with networking, progression, communication and behaviours.

For all young people, we create a plan of action. The plan addresses their individual barriers such as low educational attainment, as well as exploring their interests. Helping a young person find a job or career they enjoy will help them become more fulfilled and improve economic activity over the duration of their working lives.

Our support extends far beyond CV writing and job applications. Many young people need coaching before interviews and help with selecting appropriate

work attire. We assist with soft skills such as communication, punctuality and stress management.

We will continue to support a young person to sustain employment or training long term.

In 2017 we also launched a complementary education programme to help young people stay in school.

These young people are highlighted as at risk of disengaging by teaching professionals. We work to help integrate them back into the school system and support their continued engagement. Early intervention is key to stemming issues before they become larger complex barriers, such as exclusion from the traditional school system.

* ONS regional labour market statistics, May-July 2017

100% 42% 98

of young people on our complementary education programme are still in mainstream school

are now in a job, education or training

education, training and employments secured

This made it hard for her to find a job on her own as she had no belief in herself and her talents. As we got to know her, it was clear that Romi is a very caring young person with a lot to offer. She was interested in helping others, especially the most vulnerable in society. We also discovered Romi was passionate about working with refugees and asylum seekers.

We helped her to gain experience through volunteering at Welcome Wednesdays – an open access activity group for young people who are asylum seekers and refugees.

Romi started volunteering regularly, offering much needed support to our team. We also helped her get a volunteering placement at St Peter’s Hospice, in order to gain experience in working with different people.

Her confidence grew, as did her ability to communicate and relate to others.

As she progressed, we could see there was a great change in her mental health. She had benefitted from making new connections and friends, and was using her skills to help others.

When Romi started to feel ready for work, we helped her find apprenticeships working with children.

We went through the application process with her, arranged a meeting with a training provider and helped her to update her CV. We’re very proud that Romi is now on an apprenticeship as a Nursery Assistant and loves it.

Creative Youth Network really made the path to finding employment easier and gave me more confidence for interviews.

Shaho’s Story

Helping young people in small groups

Shaho, aged 18, is an unaccompanied asylum seeker from Iranian Kurdistan who arrived in Bristol 2 years ago.

He started attending Welcome Wednesdays when his foster carers brought him to the session, as they wanted to help him make friends locally. Despite initial anxiety, he soon settled - improving his language skills and taking an active role in the group. His selfawareness and empathetic nature mean he has been able to support other young people in a similar position. We have been delighted to be able to encourage Shaho to use his experience in a way that makes an impact to our young people in this difficult position.

Shaho is a passionate sportsman and in 2017 we helped him enter the Bristol Half Marathon and raise £200, which he decided to donate to the Welcome Wednesday project. Young people from the group collectively made the decision to use the money to feed street-homeless people in Bristol, working with #feedthehomelessBristol to cook and distribute over 100 meals.

This represents an immense achievement for Shaho and the group, who have taken part in a large event to raise money for people in need here in the UK. We are extremely proud of him and hope he will continue to help other young people in his position at our Welcome Wednesday Group.

Some young people prefer small, group based work over one to one work, though we often find one compliments the other.

We run a number of groups in specialist areas for young people.

Groups are flexible and respond to the needs of the young people we are working with at the time. For example, in 2017 we noticed some negative behaviours towards women in relationships. This led to us setting up our young women’s group and young men’s group. Here, our youth workers spent time with the young people concerned, talking about sexual health, consent, respect and gender values. Both groups were confidential to attendees, inclusive in nature and no subject was off limits.

We also hold specialist groups such as ‘Welcome Wednesdays’, our open access youth club night for refugees and asylum seekers. The group focuses on support for attendees, a number of whom suffer with PTSD from fleeing a war zone. The group is well attended and offers friendship, culture acclimatisation

and access to other services, such as English language lessons and our new Conversation Club.

Another success from 2017 includes our Project Night which is aimed at helping young people who are lonely or suffer from social anxiety. Activities include anything from sport to making a film, but the focus is always on helping young people make and retain friendships. After activities, open discussion sessions are facilitated by a youth worker and young people can reflect on how they are feeling and what positive attributes they like about their new-found friends. We started this group in response to a number of young people coming to us saying they feel lonely and that they struggle with social anxiety. The group has grown in popularity and will continue as long as it is needed.

197

sessions in total

383

young people took part

131

asylum seekers

708

positive outcomes in one of the following areas: • their mental or physical health • their knowledge or rights • their communication skills and behaviours • their self confidence

Helping elevate young voices

Declan’s Story Declan’s experience with us led him to vote for the first time in the 2017 General Election.

We believe that for the world to change, people need to hear a young voice.

We try to use our networks to promote all young people, including the ones who might not yet have the confidence to speak out. We do this by: •

Setting an example - young voices are heard throughout our own organisation.

•

Helping young voices access the media by taking young people to meet councillors, go on TV and on the radio. We help young people get their views printed in the media and help to share their perspectives on current events. For example, we recently supported young people to discuss BAME related issues at a conference at City Hall.

•

Listening to young people and responding to their needs with appropriate programmes, activities and interventions. We then share this learning with our fellow sector professionals, funders and policy makers.

•

Sharing young people’s stories to a broad audience in a public and creative way through our performance pieces and exhibitions.

•

Holding events specifically for young people to engage with issues that affect them, such as Mayoral hustings.

•

Working to improve diversity in the cultural, creative and tech sector and make it more inclusive.

•

Bringing partnerships together for the benefit of young people, for example by leading a partnership of youth work organisations in South Gloucestershire.

By bringing together all our expertise we have managed to raise additional funds and improve the youth services offered in the area.

1279 155

audience members viewed work from our young people, giving young voices a platform through creativity

young steering group members and volunteers who feed into our programmes to ensure they are meeting the needs of young people

42

media pieces featuring young people

2

young trustees

Declan (19) first came to The Station to join Unity Youth Forum, our group of Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) young people who campaign to ensure they are represented in the community.

At the time of the general election in 2017, Declan engaged in sessions on political education, informing young people about their choices. He had not voted before and he didn’t know much about politics, but he found the discussions interesting and started to get involved. He was eager to learn more.

When we had BBC Radio 5 come in to talk to young people about what they thought of the election, Declan volunteered to take part. He told the BBC that he didn’t know if he would vote and if he was to, who he would vote for.

There he met George, a young person who was very passionate about politics. George’s mother had taught him how important it is for people to exercise their

right to vote. Being his mother’s sole carer, he felt a responsibility to have his say on issues affecting their life directly.

Declan was persuaded by George and by the end of the programme, he was convinced and eager to learn how he could make change happen. We worked with him through all of the main political parties’ manifestos and the main issues discussed. Declan made his decision and then went on to vote in the general election, exercising his democratic right for the first time.

Thank you for getting my voice heard. Being on Radio 5 was very exciting and I’m now very glad I got to vote in the general election!

Thank you so much for hosting us. We couldn’t stop talking about what

75

volunteers helped us keep our buildings looking fantastic

a fantastic venue it was and how well it suited our needs. We received only glowing feedback from those who attended.

– Action for Conservation

2964

hirers

A huge thank you to The Station team on behalf of Bristol Film Festival.

Once again the night ran smoothly, the tech was great and the audience

40

tenants

had a fantastic time. It’s always a pleasure to work with The Station, and it meant that we had a stress-free and enjoyable night to finish off the festival’s spring series.

– Bristol Film Festival

I wanted to say a big thank you again for all your help and support with Sharkfest! It was an extremely successful event with lots and lots of positive feedback, both about the programme and choice of venue!

– Sharkfest organiser

Helping young people by being sustainable We want the best facilities to be available for young people in Bristol and the South West.

We have five sites across Bristol and South Gloucestershire that provide exceptional space for our activities as well as an income from letting space commercially.

We rent out our facilities on day and hourly rates for income. Young people can access our facilities for free, or as little as 50p an hour for recording equipment.

The income we earn from renting out our buildings is essential to our strive towards sustainability. This will in turn mean more support for more young people.

KINGSWOOD ESTATE An 11 acre estate that houses our charity administration services and 27 other organisations based in Kingswood, Bristol. A wide variety of companies and charities let space from us, including Circomedia, whose trapeze equipment is in the garden and whose students live on site for some of the year.

THE STATION Our central Bristol youth hub, The Station, is a particular success in providing a range of services to young people across the whole of the city. We lease space to 13 organisations, the majority of whom share our vision for creating a safe and creative environment for young people. The building hosts music rooms, recording studios, a Mac suite, a performance space, a chill out area with kitchen and a YMCA café downstairs.

THE STOKES, HILLFIELDS AND HANHAM Our 3 youth clubs have a kitchen, chill out space and activity areas. Club nights are held between 4-5 times a week. For the remainder of the time, the space is available for let.

Our income and spending

Income

We want to be open and transparent about our costs, we know it’s important to our supporters.

Rental Income, Tenant Recharges & Hires: £860,263

We are proud that we generate 68% of our income from earned income, contracts and buildings.

This decreases our reliance on fundraising. Being here for the long haul is an important part of our work with young people, so it is important we are sustainable.

Other Income, Donations & Bank Interest: £23,345

Core Costs: £313,975

Fundraising: £89,486 Services for young people: £957,750

Governance: £19,494 Grants: £688,081

In 2017 we raised £2,233,991 £860,263 from hiring out our buildings to permanent tenants and short term hires £662,302 from local authorities where we are commissioned to work on their behalf £688,081 from donations and grants from charitable trusts and philanthropists £23,345 from donations from the general public and bank interest In 2017 we spent £2,175,070 £957,750 on services for young people £794,365 on maintaining our buildings £19,494 on governance £313,975 on core costs £89,486 on fundraising

Maintaining buildings: £794,365 Contracts & Fees £662,302

Spending

Thank you Every year we ask many of you to help our young people. We are always grateful for your support, no matter how big or small. Thank you for helping young people in Bristol, B&NES and South Gloucestershire.

Thank you for believing in me and making my life better!

1625 Independent People 3rd Space Music Andrew Fletcher Arts Council England Basil Brown Charitable Trust Big Lottery Fund Bristol City Council Garfield Weston Foundation Grassroots Fund Gwyneth Forrester Trust Hanham Abbots Parish Council Hanham Parish Council Health Education England Heritage Lottery Fund Leidos Europe, Ltd. Margaret Guido’s Charitable Trust Merlin Housing Society Police Community Trust Quartet Community Foundation – Dan Hickey Fund Quartet Community Foundation – Eversea

Community First Fund Real Ideas Organisation Santander Foundation South Gloucestershire Council Spielman Charitable Trust St. James’s Place Charitable Foundation Stoke Gifford Parish Council The Dulverton Trust The Henry Smith Charity The Honourable Company of Gloucestershire Charitable Trust The Joyce Fletcher Charitable Trust The Nisbet Trust The West of England Sport Trust (Wesport) TSB UK Youth University of Exeter Youth Investment Fund

Supportive-Open-minded Reliable --Trustworthy Fair Inclusive --Sustainable --Responsive

HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE TO REACH THEIR POTENTIAL

CONTACT US www.creativeyouthnetwork.org.uk info@creativeyouthnetwork.org.uk 0117 947 7948 creativeyouthnet @Creative_Youth COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE REGISTERED IN ENGLAND & WALES REG NO: 01099684 | REG CHARITY NO: 266318 | VAT NO: 110992037