Our Youth Development Programme
Our Youth Development Programme plays an important role in reducing social isolation and loneliness, improving mental health and wellbeing, and creating a sense of belonging.
The programme includes a wide range of youth and sporting activities across several weekly youth groups, our young women’s groups, trips during the school holidays and annual residentials. Our youth participation approach means that our activities are directly informed by what young people want.
How do our activities support young refugees?
Our youth activities provide a vital space for young refugees to have fun, meet other young people from similar and different backgrounds, access support and develop skills. This includes English language support, which runs through all our activities informally, with more formal learning opportunities available.
The young people we work with form trusting relationships with staff and each other, building their own support network and community. It is through these relationships, young people’s resilience, and sustained support, that young people realise their rights, navigate a complex asylum system and safely rebuild their lives.
Residentials
Young Roots runs residentials with young people once or twice a year. Young people regularly tell us how these opportunities to leave London and temporarily forget their daily struggles, supports their wellbeing.
Residentials also encourage young people to work in teams, in a safe and collaborative environment, where they support each other and youth workers, leading to a greater sense of agency and connection.
Our residentials often include training opportunities for young people to develop leadership and youthwork skills.
Trips
We run on average 10-20 trips annually with young people. Young people are supported to make decisions together about these trips, from planning travel, activities and accommodation, to projecting costs.
Past trips have included swimming, Go- Ape, bowling, canoeing, mini-golf and trips to the seaside.
Trips play an important role in young refugees’ integration and sense of belonging, giving them opportunities to explore culture and become increasingly comfortable with the environment.
Brent Youth Club
Our Brent youth club runs weekly on Thursday evenings for young people aged 14 to 25 years.
We support young people to be actively involved in decision making and planning at the youth club, developing their leadership skills and opportunities for them to increase their involvement at all levels of Young Roots.
Our youth club provides opportunities to have fun and make new friends, as well as to practice English in a relaxed setting, learn new skills and have interesting discussions.
We offer one-to-one youthwork advice at the youth club where young people can discuss difficulties in their lives and access support.
