PFCC have showed their support to young people in Basildon with a £20,00 grant to Bar 'N' Bus
Disadvantaged youngsters now have full-time access to a youth worker at school and on the streets
PFCC have blessed Christian charity, Bar 'N' Bus, with a £20,000 grant to ensure that they can continue helping young people.
The organisation works alongside churches, councils and schools to provide youngsters with in-school mentoring and community-based youth work.
Over the last two years, the charity have proudly taken to the Basildon streets to deliver detached youth work sessions. However, they've now evolved into a service that provides one-on-one support and group work at every high school in the town.
With academic courses failing to cater to a large quantity of school students, Bar 'N' Bus' have provided the youngsters with access to a cookery programme, located at the Salvation Army. Thus giving them the ability to cater for themselves at home.
Realising the importance of the project, The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex (PFCC) donated £20,000 from the Crime Prevention Fund to help the charity deploy a full-time youth worker in Basildon.
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Roger Hirst explained the reasoning behind the decision
He said: “Giving young people positive role models, life skills and opportunities for a fulfilling future are huge keys to setting them on the right path in life. Children without this support network are at huge risk of falling victim to exploitation and County Lines.
“With this piece of work, families in Basildon can be sure their young people are receiving the support they need, whether that is at school or out in the community.”
CEO Jamie Sawtell added: “Our ultimate goal is for young people to develop personally and socially. We want them to grow up with new opportunities, to live full lives free from the fear of exploitation and to have the best opportunities for their future.
“Off the back of our detached youth work, we develop programmes directly with young people engaged. At the heart of what we do is working with young people in multiple contexts. The young people we see on the streets can also see us in school. Our targeted programmes also come from engagement.
“The cookery programme, for example, came as a result of us meeting young people who were saving up their lunch money to have their only hot meal of the week from the chicken shop. In some cases, nobody in their family knew how to cook. The idea of teaching them to cook came from that. As such, the e group now have a range of skills and are making huge positive contributions to their families.
He continued: “The full-time role is about providing young people with that trusted adult they may not have in their life elsewhere. Being a trusted adult who is the same person they see in multiple locations shows that we care about all parts of their lives and they have access to support at different times in the week for different purposes. That is hugely beneficial.
“Our work isn’t focused on fixing an issue, but on building positive relationships which provide holistic support. Positive connections and engagements are a huge factor in reducing problems before they arise.
“We also know there is a direct link between being excluded from school and exploitation and County Lines. We are exploring with schools to see what we can do to keep young people in mainstream education and reduce the risk of exploitation.
“We are listening to young people and building programmes and engagements that work for them. We would never have had the time to do this without the funded full-time role.
“It is encouraging that the PFCC sees what we are doing and achieving and continues to invest in our work. We feel very supported.”
And with the Community Safety Development Fund opening up applications, the opportunity for other groups to get the same support is available.
Voluntary and community groups from across the county can make their case for funding from the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex’s Community Safety Development Fund.
The grand total, which stands at a whopping £330,000 is offering £20,000 to projects that do their utmost to support vulnerable people and tackle crime and anti social behaviour.
In order to receive the grant, applicants must provide evidence as to how they will make a positive impact on at least one of the Police and Crime Plan or Fire and Rescue Plan priorities which can be found via: https://www.essex.pfcc.police.uk/
Those wanting more information can attend Roger Hirst's next public meeting at 7 PM at the Basildon Centre in St Martin's square on January 17.
More details are available at: https://www.essex.pfcc.police.uk/