Youth Concern Whitehead

Public benefits

Youth Concern runs the Genesis drop-in centre for young people, which is open 5 days a week. We also have a computer/media training suite in the local community centre. The target age range is young people between the ages of 12-21 years. The centre is open to all young people of the greater Whitehead area who are the main beneficiaries. The

centre currently has a particular emphasis to reach young people who are considered "at-risk," or involved in anti-social behaviour. The public benefits of Youth Concern Whitehead are the advancement of education, the advancement of citizenship and the advancement of community involvement. Young people who come to the centre are encouraged to get involved in a wide variety of projects which help in their personal development, enhance self-esteem, and teach them usable life skills or career-related skills. These have included cycle maintenance, smartphone app design, training in video filming and editing, outdoor activities courses, projects to raise girls' self-esteem, inter-generational projects involving contact between young people and the elderly, and Genesis Advance. This programme tries to help young people by improving their employment prospects. It does this through homework/revision clubs for young people still at school to help improve exam results, assistance with preparation of C.V.’s, training in interview and presentation skills for those looking for work, and providing liaison between young people and various agencies offering further education, training or employment schemes. The centre also includes community-related projects so the young people have participated in litter-picking events, community festivals, and projects with the elderly. Our Twilight football projects help young people develop their physical ability and skill levels in football, and provides a positive alternative activity which helps reduce anti-social behavior. The benefits to the young people are that they are developed as people gaining improvements in their education, their physical ability and skill levels, inter-personal skills, and their mental, emotional or spiritual well-being. They also have a place where they can go and feel safe, respected, and be listened to. Other wider beneficiaries are the Whitehead community, for whom anti-social behaviour is reduced, and the elderly who have the possibility to engage with young people through our inter-generational projects, leading to improved understanding and a reduction in fear amongst older people. Wider society also benefits as the young people move towards adulthood and take their place as more responsible members of the community than they might otherwise have done. These benefits can be demonstrated by evaluations carried out with participants in various projects. The benefit of employment-related projects can be demonstrated by evidence of young people who have been successfully helped to obtain places on training courses, or who have obtained employment. The benefit of video skills projects can be shown by the videos that have been produced by the young people who have learned the relevant skills. Other benefits can be demonstrated by statistical evidence such as reduction in anti-social behaviour reported to the PSNI.

What your organisation does

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