Tendring FST project helps young people gain confidence to be different
Posted on Fri 05 August 2011
Case study: Inclusion Ventures awarded £125,000 over 3 years
S was 15 when we [Inclusion Ventures] first started working with him. He and four others were a group of young men who were often a nuisance on the estate. They began to use our services 18 months after the initial group of particularly hardened young people did, and in fact this had probably deterred them from attending earlier. The reputations of the first group were far reaching.
S describes himself at that time as a street urchin; staff described him as bullish, arrogant and a natural leader. He was a lad of big build and could be quite intimidating. S and his gang enjoyed tormenting the police. They would think nothing of hoax calling them and on arrival, verbally taunting them. These lads were not particularly malicious, but were aggressive and not above behaviour such as criminal damage. Unlike the first group, this second group were very loyal to each other and looked after each other. The youngest member of their group had Tourettes syndrome; staff noted that the group were protective of him.
In some ways S was not as challenging as some of the other users of our service, he had an inner strength. Staff recognised that S could fulfil a role as a leader in the drop-in and help control the behaviour of some of the others. S embraced the role and kept the lead until the group moved on. He relished the responsibility and of helping staff, who he had a lot of respect for. In those days the children would think nothing of fronting up to staff nose to nose - in these situations young people such as S sticking up for staff was very useful.
S was able to secure a job as a hod carrier when he left school. He continued to attend drop-ins, however, aged 19 he met his girlfriend. She had children from a previous relationship. As his relationship developed, we began to see less of him. He did however continue to attend football sessions. He later visited the centre to tell us he had secured a job as a funeral director, a job he relished. We saw him much less of him as a result.
He later visited to share the news that he was expecting his first child.
S recently came to the football session to talk to a particular staff member. He was full of praise for Inclusion Ventures and the guidance staff had provided. He agreed to take part in an evaluation of our service. He reflected the importance of having a place to spend time in the centre of the neighbourhood, particularly for some of the children that he considered less fortunate. He told us of two in particular who were not fed properly at home. He told us how the responsible role we had entrusted him within the drop-ins had given him the confidence to deal with his girlfriend's children.
He explained that we had given him the drive to want more from his life and reminisced about 3 of his friends who sadly had not fared as well as himself. He also spoke at length about how much the estate had transformed over the years and how much safer it now feels.
We asked him if he would be happy for his children to attend our drop-ins. He told us that he would be glad for them to come but that he had moved himself out of the estate in order to give them a better chance in a more rural location.
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