Young people are vital in community approaches.

As part of the Trailblazer programme to improve children's and Younger People’s well-being, the NHS has funded a project to encourage the positive contribution of younger people in their communities and support them to have an impact on those communities.

Research has shown that (Loneliness in young people: what are the risk factors? - What Works Wellbeing) a sense of community is just as important to younger people as it is to everyone else. This study notes “higher perceived neighbourhood quality, sense of belonging to the neighbourhood, similarity to others in the neighbourhood, and frequent chatting to neighbours are all related to lower levels of loneliness.” 

As an organisation, we were increasingly aware that in our interactions in neighbourhoods around Gloucester, younger people were often presented as being a problem in communities but the voice of those younger people as community members was not something we were hearing.

The funding we received has helped us to look at how we can focus community-building better towards working with young people. Our strength-based approach aims to discover what it means for younger people to feel as though they belong in communities in Gloucester, have hope, have a voice and the ability to make the changes they wish to see in the place where they live.

We are working in Coney Hill, Matson, Robinswood and White City communities listening to younger people in schools, youth clubs, parks, to understand what they want to do to make their communities an even better place to live and to encourage and support them to take action. We believe that younger people know best what is needed in their area and have ideas, skills, and talents to help make this happen.

Our team of 3 community builders has really enjoyed interacting with younger people and we are really grateful for the support and collaboration of others who are keen to champion younger people including local schools, community leaders, PCSOs and other VCSE organisations.

So far, we have learned that it takes time for young people to open up and see us as trusted adults, young people often see or know lots but share little as they have often been ignored or blamed in communities and finally young people are often focussed on the here and now so we need to be flexible and ready to listen.

As the project develops, we will be interested in hearing the stories of younger people as they take action, to understand and celebrate what they were able to do for themselves, how that impacted their sense of wellbeing and to identify any areas where they might benefit from support and how that should be given. Watch this space…