TDC (Trust for Developing Communities) are a community development charity who work with local people to identify and make changes in their neighbourhoods, Last year, they wrote a piece for Child Friendly Brighton about the work they are doing across the city. They return with another piece on how their youth work impacts young people.
Last time we told you how, with your support, we can help communities to thrive, improving lives now as well as changing the shape of our city for good. This time we want to tell you a bit more about the work we do with disadvantaged young people and some of the challenges we have recently faced. We want to tell you about Max, one of the young men our youth work has helped support, who quite literally fought to change his future.
Max’s story
Moulsecoomb Amateur Boxing Club was established in 2004. The club trains local young men and women in boxing techniques and personal fitness as well as providing opportunities for them to gain self-confidence, self-esteem and respect.
Before discovering the club existed, Max and his friends used to spend their time hanging out on the streets of Moulsecoomb. Max joined the boxing club, put all his energy into the sport and is now a national champion.
Reflecting on how the club has changed his life, Max said ”Being a member of this club means a lot to me, I started when I was about 10. They’ve trained me from nothing to National Champion in the end so I’m really pleased with that.”
The TDC supported the Amateur Boxing Club in their hopes to build a new extension to their boxing gym. As well as providing extra room to improve coaching for current participants, the extension will provide space for more young people to get involved and reduce the waiting list of local young people keen to join. Thanks to help from TDC’s youth team, the club received around £60,000 in grant funding and work has recently started on their new, extended building.
Matt Bell, head coach at the club, reiterates the impact that the boxing club has: “It’s not only where it starts, it’s where it ends, enriching these young people’s lives not only when they start boxing, but when they leave the game. It improves their background, their health, and their inclusion into society.”
He goes on to say ”It’s so important for these young people to have the chance to express themselves and to change their lives.”
Youth work is one of the key areas that TDC works in and supporting our young people to be their very best is a very important part of what makes our city the fantastic place it is. Youth work helps young people realise their full potential. Youth work changes futures. Yet youth work across Brighton & Hove recently came under a very real threat.
The threat to youth funding
At the end of 2016, Brighton & Hove City Council announced their intention to slash the budget for youth services by 80%. It was a tough piece of news to hear, but instead of settling for it, the youth of Brighton & Hove decided to take action. For months they campaigned – with young people, their families, charities, concerned local residents and prominent businesspeople all getting behind the campaign. They fought relentlessly, showing the impact of the services and reminding councillors that every £1 spent on youth work in the city is estimated to have a social value of £5.56, preventing costs to other services further down the line.
After months of hard work and passionate demonstrations under the banner of “Protect Youth Services”, the campaign paid off, and in February 2017 the council announced youth budget cuts of a much less painful 15%. Huge thanks go to everybody who took part in the campaign and helped convince the council to change their minds. The campaigners themselves received recognition for their tremendous effort when they were awarded “Star of the Year” in the Argus annual Youth in Action awards back in July last year.
But the fight is never really over, with recent events having made us more aware than ever that our funding can be susceptible to sudden and drastic cuts. On a positive note though, we have had the chance to see how active, committed and engaged our young people are – launching online petitions, organising marches and attending council meetings themselves in their quest to protect the services that mean so much to them.
It was wonderful to see so many young people politically engaged for the first time in their lives, talking so proudly about the achievements that youth work has helped them realise and campaigning so passionately to keep the services that make such a difference. You can see some of the young people talking about the campaign in this video made by our partners at the Hangleton & Knoll project.
And Brighton & Hove City Council continue to show their belief in the impact of youth services, making funding for youth services across the city a priority and pledging an additional £90,000 of investment in youth services in last month’s budget.
Volunteering with our youth team
If you’d like to help us improve the lives of young people in Brighton & Hove, we are currently recruiting volunteers to work alongside our youth team. Volunteering will give you the chance to learn valuable, practical skills and make a real difference in your community whilst being supported by a mentor and given access to training opportunities. If you are able to commit 3 or more hours a week for 3 months or more then we’d love to hear from you. Find out how to apply on our website.
TDC are a community development charity based in Brighton, Hove and beyond. We work with communities across the city – helping them develop and flourish by identifying their own needs and supporting them to find and action solutions themselves. Look us up on Facebook & Twitter to find out more about what we do.
Follow Us