Since 2012, we have been doing youthwork outreach in Clowes Park and street corners in Salford where youth are hanging out. We have had varied success with this but lacked critical infrastructure needed to provide an alternative that could ensure their needs were met in a safe, positive and constructive way.
After looking for suitable premises in Salford for our youth centre for a number of years without success, we finally found a place on Bury Old Road just a couple hundred yards from Salford. Although not actually in Salford, we serve the youth in Salford and the focus of this project is to encourage the youth to spend their time in our centre in a constructive way instead of hanging out in the park, streets and back alleyways.
We will be working with children and young people from 13-25, many who are NEET and also from families living in poverty due to the cost-of-living crises. When planning this project, we received over 80 testimonials from people living in the streets around the park in support of what we were doing. Many complained about crime and the number of times the emergency services were called, anti-social behaviour including parties late at night, noise and rubbish being left. Dozens of people told us they avoid going to the park with their children later in the day.
Our outreach workers have spent hundreds of hours in the park speaking with the youth and finding out how to better the situation and their lives. They wanted a place to call home where they feel safe and accepted with facilities to help keep them occupied as well as structured activities to help them grow and give them a chance to succeed. We will provide them with this place.
The Centre will be staffed with youth workers and trained volunteers and will be open 6 days a week. We will have lounges and games rooms for them to relax in. We will also have a place where they can study, a music room for them to play and learn music, a gym, and an IT room where we will teach IT based skills. We will find out what challenges are affecting them from training or getting a job and help them to navigate them, ensuring that everyone has the foundations they need for a positive, successful future.
The money we raise from this will go towards core costs of running The Centre.