Tag: young

4Youth: New Street-Based Youth Project for Devizes

4Youth (South West) are pleased to announce the beginning of a 2.5 year street-based youth work project based in Devizes, Wiltshire on Monday and Thursday evenings………

The aim of street-based youth work is to engage and build trusting relationships with young people and to positively influence their lives by providing support and guidance, signposting through engaging them in enjoyable activities and informal and social education.

The project is a partnership between Devizes Town Council, which has provided the funding, and 4Youth (South West), a charity which delivers centre- and street-based youth work activities for young people aged 9-25 in Melksham, Atworth, Westbury and now Devizes. The charity also offers 1-to-1 counselling and group workshops at a range of sites across Wiltshire through its TeenTalk service.

4Youth has recruited a new team of Devizes based youth workers who will be delivering two street-based sessions per week from the beginning of October 2023. These sessions will begin by engaging young people in Devizes town centre on Monday evening’s and in the estate around 40 Acres Road Park on Thursday evenings; the routes may change over time, as young people begin to engage and tell us where they would like the team to be.

As the name suggests, street-based youth work takes place on the streets, parks and other public areas in the communities where the young people spend time. It starts where the young people ‘are at’ – both geographically and developmentally. It delivers informal and social education and address whatever needs are presented to or perceived by the youth worker. As street-based youth workers have no physical building or specific activity over which they have power or control, the relationship between young people and youth worker is entirely voluntary and constantly up for negotiation.

Hannah Parry, Area Coordinator for 4Youth, said, “There can often be a perception that county towns like Devizes don’t have as many issues as more urban towns and cities, but that’s often not the case. They can also experience a lack of opportunities, various kinds of disadvantage and deprivation, youth unemployment, low educational attainment and health issues, as well as anti-social behaviour and crime, such as gangs, drugs and county lines, and crime rates can sometimes be more concentrated in rural towns than in bigger cities.”

Youth work is a key tool for detracting young people away from harmful activity by supporting them to engage with positive activity, to address challenges and barriers and to move forwards happily, healthily and productively in their lives. Street-based youth work has often been thought of as a way of trying to get young people to stop offending or engaging in anti-social behaviour, but in reality it has much more to offer young people and communities. Street-based youth work does work with young people to discourage ASB and youth offending, but at its core it offers as much value as any other form of youth work.

“As well as supporting young people where they are now, our Devizes street-based team will be helping to understand the youth scene and gather the voices of local young people around their needs and aspirations. This will help us to understand the issues young people in the town face and how these can be addressed. We will use street-based youth work to build a stronger community relationship for the young people of Devizes by supporting them to have a voice within and to participate in the town.”

You can keep up to date with 4Youth (South West) via Instagram and Facebook and find out more about their services via their websites – 4youth.org.uk and teentalk.org.uk

Trending…..

Rowdefest 26 Lineup Reveal!

Drizzly Sunday…again. I’ve just finished designing the poster, so allow me to reveal the lineup for Rowdefest this coming May, might cheer us up a…

Pop Up Youth Cafe Goes Down a Treat with Youth in Devizes

What a brilliant initiative on the Green in Devizes this week, and a pleasure to see what can only be described as a “mobile youth club.” It pitched up every day this week, with kids of all ages enjoying the facilities it provides. Me, ageing, either sleeping, working or complaining about sleeping or working, managed to completely overlook its very existence, while my kids and better half were aware of it.

Why am I the last to know about everything? Because I can’t be expected to look past my phone these days, relying on the book of face for my news, in-between sleeping and working! Councillor Jonathon Hunter Facebook posted about it, I inquired, perhaps unintentionally sternly, but only as a senior moment, I couldn’t see from the photos quite what the deal was!

So, I ventured down to see for myself, and aside the drizzle, it was in full swing. A volleyball net currently unattended, collapsible football goals with a group playing between them just beyond it, and at the van, children are surfing the net, or else playing a Tony Hawks skateboarding game on a console. There’s drinks, sweets and doughnuts aplenty, and Steve Dewar stands proudly by it.

Other features of the mobile youth club include a rock-climbing wall, which couldn’t come out to play because of the rain.

I was surprised to hear it had been in operation for five years. “I’ve been running Potterne Youth Club for about ten years,” Steve explained, and moved onto why it hadn’t been advertised on Facebook and other social media. “The reality is we don’t, because Facebook isn’t the best place to communicate with teenagers. It’s detached work; what we do is pitch up and engage with the young people there, we do it throughout the whole week, and day-on-day there’s an increase.”

Steve couldn’t see the point in me mentioning his mobile youth club, adamant the best form of communication for younger people is face-to-face, and besides, it was the last day it pitched on the Green, moving onto Trowbridge next week. I beg to differ, for if only to pay tribute to this guy and the wonderful work he does. In the plight of social facilities for children and youth clubs multiplied by this post-lockdown era, what Steve does here is at last as positive spin and proof amidst the doom and gloom of public services, there’s still saints like Steve, out their engaging youth the best way he knows how.

The opposite effect of a lack of amenities for youth is unfortunately anti-social behaviour, juvenile crime and possible drinking and drug taking, as we all know. Steve mentioned how the charity aided awareness and prevention of these difficult predicaments. But all the time, parents were always viewed as runners-up, his focus was entirely on the wellbeing of the children, except when he offered me a doughnut, kindly donated by Morrisons! The youth demographic there was all-encompassing, and clearly, they all enjoyed it equally.

It’s certainly evident here, social media is not needed to make kids aware of an occasion, it works by word-of-mouth as it always has. Grown up with it fed to them, rather it’s the adults who engage more with the internet, and while kids are still out, running, jumping and playing sports and games outdoors, a large majority of generation X are glued to their devises, ironically whinging that the kids are glued to their devises! I knew this, I’m guilty too, but it was great to actually witness evidence of it happening in our own town.

Steve also noted he attends local schools to let them know about the project. The van moves across the county, planning to pitch up in Trowbridge. “We’d love to do it more,” Steve expressed, “as a concept we could run this throughout the entire summer holidays, but because I work in schools termtime as well, my wife would kill me if I spent my entire summer holiday doing this! And also, financially as a charity, we get a little bit funding, and if we had more, we would plan to do more.”

And I conclude, ultimately, what an absolutely fantastic and inspiring guy, I tip my hat to Steve Dewar, and ask science, can we clone this chap?! We need more facilities like this, operating throughout the county and school holidays, we need more Steves!

Trending….

Breaking News in Rowde: Wiltshire Road Gets Resurfaced!

Are you sitting down, as this may come as a shock? Residents of the Springfield Road estate in Rowde should be feeling rather privileged at the moment, as bucking the countywide trend of having roads which look like Mars has suffered a doodlebug air-raid, it’s actually been resurfaced! Not all of them seem satisfied they’ve…

Chippenham’s New Venue, The Ruze Opens with The Showhawk Duo

It could be bigger than Diggers! See what I did there? Okay, you youngsters might need Google, but while you’re researching Chippenham’s hedonistic past, a new music venue and studio is preparing to open its doors at the end of February….. The Ruze on Union Road opens on Friday, 27th February. It’s a daring era…

Things to do in Devizes for February….

Yay! We made it to Feb, in one piece, just! I might even be persuaded to break out of hibernation. If you’ve been hibernating too, maybe it’s time to throw caution to the wind, poke your twitching snout from your cubbyhole and have a nose about. If you do, here’s some special recommendations of things…

People Living in Devizes Could be Moving to Devizes!

Do you live in Devizes? Are you sure? Sure sure? Sure sure sure?! You could actually be living under the oppressive regime of Bishop’s Cannings Parish Council and not even know about it! But fear not blinkered comrades, an elite task force from Devizes Town Council is coming to liberate you! The border between Devizes…

Agricultural Appropriation with Monkey Bizzle

There’s no sophomore slump for Monkey Bizzle; prolific in their art, these rural chav-choppers return with a second album, Agricultural Appropriation, only five years and a kazillion bongs after their debut, Idiot Music, and it be gurt lush, shagger…. Not on the guesstimate I’ve passed a thousand plays of Oi Mate, their tune from Idiot…

Doctor Faustus Sells His Soul…. in Devizes!

Featured Image:@jenimeadephotography Just another rainy Saturday afternoon in Devizes, whereby I watched a profound fellow dramatically sacrifice himself to the devil, then popped to Morrisons for a Toblerone! The supermarket felt insignificant and plastic after the epic conclusion of Doctor Faustus at the Wharf Theatre, which opens on Monday 26th and runs until Saturday 31st…

Devizes Sammi Evans in the Shadow of a Debut Single

Being a singer in a tribute or covers band is nerve-wracking. Though tributes can hide behind a mask, a cover band frontperson can be reassured only by the notion that friends are backing them; blame the drummer! But a soloist, singing their mind acoustically is in another ballpark. Stripped back, alone, exposing your innermost thoughts,…

Chandra Finds Heaven on Earth

Usually I just write what I think, but if I had a point-scoring system this new single from Bristol-based indie-pop outfit Chandra would tick every box. It’s called Heaven on Earth; if Belinda Carlise made it, Chandra rocked it! Punchy, tick. Find that perfect hook, tick. Subtly righteous narrative, tick. Balance pithy narrative with equal…

Peter Gabriel to Release Live at Womad Album

Peter Gabriel – ‘Live At WOMAD 1982’ will be released on 8th May 2026. It was a simple idea; to create a festival out of all the brilliant music and art made all over the world, stuff made outside of the mainstream – music that wasn’t getting on the radio and was even harder to…

Fulltone ‘26 to Ignite Wiltshire with an Epic Weekend of Live Music

Now in its seventh year, and at its new and better venue, Park Farm on the edge of Devizes, it’s full steam ahead for The Fulltone Festival ‘26. From the 11th–12th July Fulltone is set to ignite Wiltshire with an epic weekend of live music….. Promising a “spectacular, joy-filled weekend of live music which brings…