April & May 2008
Dear Supporters,
With so much going on we didn’t manage to get our April newsletter out, so here goes with the May newsletter….. One very exciting thing that happened in April was that David Cameron visited us. He spent the best part of a morning with us; listening and talking to young people in our drop-in-centre, walking the Bemerton Estate, and talking to the Prospex team about local issues facing young people. Do visit our website to watch the video.
Detached continues to be at the heart of everything we do at Prospex and is the core link to all our other work streams. It is the first point of contact that most young people have with Prospex. Over the coming months, and especially over the summer break, Prospex wants to increase the amount of sessions it provides.
Closer links and a more joined up way of thinking with the Islington Y-bus and other local youth organisations should allow us to provide a wider coverage and a stronger presence within the community.
We are also actively recruiting more volunteers to boost our numbers for detached work. As always funding is crucial to allow us to build this work stream and to provide much needed detached work in the local community.
Three detached sessions had to be cancelled in April & May due to lack of staff. One three hour session with 2 workers costs £90. Can you help with funding or voluntary time?
We have just finished a Prospex Life course for Holloway School, ending with a residential course on a farm in Surrey. This self development course was a real success and the feedback from the school is that they have seen significant changes in most of the young people who attended.
The course ran at Prospex for five weeks, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and also included various field trips. One that had a big impact on the young people was a visit to Highgate cemetery, to talk about the future. We visited the grave of Karl Marx, a memorial to the North London Firemen, found an unmarked grave that just had the word DEAD, and looked at many other memorials. It was a powerful way to open up the subject of how the young people want to be remembered and the impact they want to make. We are told that they have not yet stopped talking about that day.
The residential was camping - with no luxuries. The toilet was constructed of tarpaulin wrapped around four trees and we cooked on open fires. It took the young people out of their comfort zone and helped us to reinforce what they had learnt over the previous five weeks, with lots of challenges. The first meal was tied on a rope, twenty feet in the air, and the young people had to build a fire to get it down before they could eat (no small task). They worked out an easy way after about an hour and a half and ate a well deserved meal.
Following on from this Holloway School asked us to run another course, which started on 22nd May.
(It costs £7,425 to run a Prospex Life course for 6 weeks for 6-8 young people.)
Outward Bound
Over the Easter holiday we took four 14 year olds to Aberdovey in Wales for an Outward Bound course, as the conclusion of a short term project. The week was extremely physical and challenged the four young people (and us!) on many levels.
During the week we:
- sailed an eight man cutter - the highlight of which was to all jump in the sea to push it off a sand bank!
- overcame the trapeze jump!
- went on a 6 hour trek to the summit of Cader Idris and camped 50ft below the summit for the night.
- completed a high ropes course.
- skimmed stones at the beach
- and had many great conversations which enabled us to challenge each young person.
The week had a huge effect on all four young people, especially standing on the summit of Cader Idris. Since their return two young people have made significant lifestyle changes and all have grown in confidence and self esteem.
We hope that this is an experience we can repeat. This opportunity was a gift so we will have to hope that we receive the funding for another.
We have teamed up with Boston & Naylor Estate and HFI (Homes for Islington) to transform a disused football pitch on the estate into a Community Vegetable & Herb Garden.
The pitch has lain idle for nearly 12 years, until last week when a group of three young people from Prospex started phase one of the project. A mass of vegetation was cleared, shredded and collected by Islington Council for recycling into compost.
This is an extremely exciting and worthwhile project, bringing together all the local residents and many organisations within the community. It is our intention (funding permitting) to work on all phases of this project.
Funding is exceptionally tight in this work stream at present. Our next injection of cash is not expected until August 2008.
If anyone can assist in funding a work placement for a Young Person then please contact Maxine. It costs £450 per 6 week placement. Can you help support a Young Person?
We would like to thank two very generous personal donors for their kind contributions towards this work stream; one for the sum of £500 and the other for £1000. This will allow another three young people to complete 6 week placements.
I am sorry to say that we were unsuccessful with our funding application to Children in Need. We have written to them to ask for a more detailed explanation and hope to build on that information when we receive it.
We will continue to make applications to other organisations to fund this extremely important work stream, in order to employ a Family Worker.
We have just teamed up with Sparkplug to run a short term project called
“Scrambling to Employment”. The project will last for 5 weeks and will help them get their CSCS card which you need to work within the construction industry. It will also prepare them with other skills to help them in the start of their employment. The incentive is a scrambling trip. Watch this space.
We are also about to start an art project that will be transformed as a permanent exhibit on the Thornhill Bridge over the canal, laser cut into galvanised steel. This is a joint project with Thornhill Bridge Gardeners. Watch this space too!
“Who Am I”
This month “Who Am I” features Maxine Johnson………..
“I am a mother with three wonderful children: Jodie aged 20, Alice 16, and Lizzie aged 9. As you can imagine that is a fulltime job in itself.
I am now in my second year at the YMCA George Williams College in East London, working towards my BA honours degree in Youth Work & Community Learning & Development. (Generously funded by the Rank Foundation) To say it is difficult would be an understatement but I love every minute of it. The hardest part is finding the time to write the assignments, but somehow I always manage to get there. (Only another 3 years to go!)
I have lived in the local area all my life and have seen many changes over the years, not all for the better. I am passionate about my community and the issues that surround it. One of the main reasons for joining Prospex was so that I could make a difference. So here I am.
I love dancing and people that make me laugh.”
Visit our newly revamped website. Also tell your friends and family to visit and sign up to our Monthly Newsletter.
The Prospex Team & Young People.
Prospex Drop-In Centre
Opening Hours - June 2008
| Monday | AM: Individual Support Sessions
PM: Detached or Open Evening 6pm - 8pm |
| Tuesday | AM: Individual Support Sessions
PM: Drop-In 3pm - 5pm |
| Wednesday | AM: Individual Support Sessions
PM: Drop-In 3pm - 5pm |
| Thursday | AM: Individual Support Sessions
PM: Boston Club Naylor Hall 7pm - 8.30pm |
| Friday | AM: Individual Support Sessions
PM: Detached or Open Evening 6pm - 10pm |
