Sports Podge, held on the 5th of May at the Oval, was an amazing event organised by Phil Jones and his team, an event that brought people together through the power of sports. We were blown away by the concept and the execution of this event.
From the moment we arrived, we were impressed by the level of organisation. The wonderful food, top-notch entertainments, and great people we networked with throughout the day made the event truly unforgettable. The location at The Oval was also an ideal setting, providing a perfect backdrop to the exciting activities.
The atmosphere was lively and welcoming, making it easy for everyone to connect and enjoy themselves. We were thrilled to meet so many like-minded individuals who shared the same passion for sports and the desire to make a positive impact on the community.
In conclusion, Sports Podge was an amazing event that exceeded all our expectations. I enjoyed every moment of it, from the food to the entertainment, the people, and the activities. I can’t wait to attend the next one and see what Phil Jones has in store for us. It was truly an unforgettable experience!
We are able to create a tent tailored to the needs of each client. Create structures together with the client , taking into account the wishes and preferences.
Through the outreach work we do on a weekly basis, we have the opportunity to meet a variety of different people that live and commute into the community. Through these engagements we have successfully established some firm relationships with people of all ages.
We have also built a reasonably good relationship with many of the youth that live in this catchment.
Many of these young people have gone onto partake in a number of additional projects that have been initiated within the Erith area.
Through this engagement we have supported three young men in particular. These young men, were invited to be part of our project “Project Point of View” a project sponsored by the property developers Dominvs.
We are confident that the summer of 2022 will hold many treasured memories for the young men that took part.
The young men from Bexley are always enthusiastic and a pleasure to work with. They often visit us on our regular outreach provision.
During the summer they able visited spaces such as the US Embassy, high end apartments, constructions sites and even had the opportunity to interview the CEO of the Dominvs group in a scheduled podcast.
For the group the highlight was a five day residential in Cornwall where they all took part in water rafting, paddle boarding, canoeing and they even jumped from twenty foot cliffs to overcome their fear of water and other limiting beliefs they had.
Two of the young men could not swim before the residential, and had a fear of water in general.
Successfully all of the group overcame their fears of water and took part in some of the most challenging activities involving water.
The transformation for these three young men and the wider group was amazing to witness and share with them. They also established life long relationships created by the intense team work and support they offered each other over the days away from their homes and their natural environments.
The overall project will have a long lasting impact on their lives and will promote a better understanding of how they can overcome challenges now and in their futures.
Projects such as the outreach in Erith is proof that being on the streets and meeting the people in the community at a grassroots level really does have an impact.
“touching people’s hearts through your work is the only job that you could do and nobody has to hire you for it.”
Youth Unity works to provide opportunities to young people. This is all made possible meeting local people and opening frank and honest conversations.
Media Hub came to Ashford in the February school half term
A safe space for young budding musicians that is mobile, and can be accessible anywhere. The bus has been transformed into a fully functioning studio, with new equipment. The Bus can pull up anywhere for a session with anyone who needs it, from professional artists to school children who want to learn how to make music. The emphasis is on the young generation coming up and supporting them, and giving back to the community.
Street Interviews, we will be taking to the streets filming short vlogs with members of the community. Our aim is to get a wider snapshot of how the community is coping with the current climate, rise in fuel costs, the strikes and sadly the rise in series youth violence.
What they would like to see change in the borough?
Although these are serious topics we will work to ensure that these are engaging and positive as possible whilst giving a real voice to the community.
Dover District Council (DDC) is taking the lead in talking with the district’s young people about drugs and alcohol, and their impact on mental health.
The Dover District Youth Conference 2022 is running as a roadshow in nine different secondary schools in Dover, Deal and Sandwich from 23-27 May.
Inviting year eight students, the conference will host an IMPACT workshop (‘I’m making positive action choices today’). The session will convey essential and positive messages concerning mental health, exploitation, gangs, and county lines, as well as teaching young people how to become personally resilient in making positive choices.
Three guest speakers Nick Evans, Anne Lamb and Paul McKenzie from Youth Unity CIC will share their own powerful stories of addiction, homelessness, relationships, and grooming. It will give students the opportunity to reflect on information from people who have had first-hand experience.
There will also be supporting entertainment from young and local talented artists: singer Rudie Edwards and singer/MC for the week, Robbie McKewan.
Students will have a chance to browse stalls from Kooth, Early Help, Kent Police, and DDC’s Community Development Team, full of information to take away on topics that have been covered by the keynote speakers, plus other safety materials. Trained counsellors will also be on hand along with the schools’ own pastoral care teams.
Nick Evans, recovering addict and community substance misuse worker, said: “As an addict who is now in recovery, my passion now is supporting others who are going through similar experiences, and empowering all young people to make informed choices. I aim to reduce the stigma around addiction and show that people can change and turn their lives around. Most importantly, I talk about the importance of wellbeing and offer coping strategies to anyone who may need that extra help.”
Anne Lamb, a mentor, trainer and counsellor for consultancy ‘Out of the Shadows’, talks about the pressures of parenting a child who is struggling with their mental health. She said: “If I can help young people make the right choices by talking about my own experience, then I know that my time spent has been absolutely worth it.”
James Hensman, Head of Service for Youth Unity, said: “Our aim is to build resilience in our young people, by empowering them with the tools and knowledge to protect themselves from exploitation. We show them how popular culture and social media has so much influence on our daily lives, and discuss the language being used in songs and by influencers. We ask them what they know already, and we build on the conversation.”
Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Ollie Richardson, said: “Our young people have experienced a lot of disruption and change over the last two years as a direct result of the pandemic. DDC is fully aware of the impact that this has had on their mental health and resilience. These workshops have been designed to raise awareness of drink and drugs, and to powerfully show how they can and should be avoided.”
Notes to editors:
The speakers
Nick Evans is in recovery, and he works in the community supporting others. He has experienced addiction, criminality and homelessness and speaks from the heart about his own journey.
Anne Lamb trained in Restorative Practice in early 2016 and supported Margate Police’s weekly Restorative Clinics for a number of years. She developed a Family Liaison role across the Thanet Pupil Referral Units and worked closely and proactively with some of the most challenging students and families. Within ‘Out of the Shadows’ she is delivering presentations and bespoke workshops to professionals and students encouraging a wider understanding and knowledge of the ‘less understood’ issues young people are facing.
Youth Unity CIC is a “not for profit” organisation established to provide effective help and support to vulnerable young people and adults affected by group violence (gangs), drugs and other forms of exploitation such as human trafficking, CSE and extremism. Their mission is to help Prevent | Prepare | Protect for a future that is founded on more available choices and better-informed decisions. A formula they believe can offer an individual a greater start in life.
The Racing Media Academy was devised after broadcaster and entrepreneur Josh Apiafi, identified a barrier to getting new diverse talent into the horse racing media.
Following an interview on Sky in January 2021, where Josh called for the sport to increase its equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), the media has a strong roll to play in this. He was able to bring together racing’s leading media organisations to look at the feasibility of creating British racing’s first ever, free to attend, Media Academy.
Josh, along with his team of associates, worked hard to build the concept and gather support, funding the project personally, before applying for a grant from the Racing Foundation to help launch the project. In October 2021 funding was granted to create a ‘pilot’ for The Racing Media Academy; to be held at The British Racing School in April 2020.
The Racing Media Academy is part of the Non-Yard Based Career Pathway into horse racing; for those people who love the idea of working in racing but can’t necessarily, or don’t want to ride horses. The Racing Media Academy gives its students the opportunity for work experience and training within racing’s top media houses. An intensive week’s training has been designed at The British Racing School, where students will get an insight into the world of horse racing and learn about the different areas of the media. This means that those who don’t know very much about horse racing but have a passion for the media or those passionate about racing with no media experience could still apply.
The ambition is to increase diversity across racing’s media by creating a pathway for talent that is reflective of today’s society. The pilot has gained the support of several organisations that work with young people from a variety of different backgrounds. This was a strategic plan to help spread the message about the academy and open the opportunity up to everyone, no matter what background, religion, race, culture, sexuality or disability. These supporting organisations can all be found on our supporter’s page.
The Racing Media Academy is accessible to anyone over the age of 18 and is entirely free with a paid placement. Applications for the 2022 course are now closed. We will reopen applications for the 2023 course towards the end of 2022. Search ‘Racing Media Academy’ on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok to get the latest updates.
Youth Unity spent the day at the British School of Racing, with the Media Training Academy and we was incredibly impressed at the opportunities available.
The Project Hard Graft is a new initiative designed to help young people gain valuable skills in the events management and Construction industries. Working with young people at risk of offending and training them to be ready for work!
It will then be used for training and supporting their journeys into owning their own small business or gaining full or part time employment. Watch out for more information on this amazing project 2022!!
Youth Unity are worked with Havering Council to deliver an event which is to celebrate and to say thank you to young people for coping through the lockdown.
The event is a mini festival of and for young people living in Havering showcasing young talent focusing on youth performances, and featuring DJ Pebz who will play between intervals.
DJ PEBZ
I am a up and coming female DJ, from East London with musical knowledge way beyond my years! I am 20 years young. Music is the key to happiness
Hanr is a 16 year old singer, songwriter & performer. She has performed her own songs; cover songs all over the UK & in many cities throughout Europe. She is an accomplished trained singer with a natural talent. Hanr’s recently released single, “Missing you”, a contemporary RnB song, is available now on all platforms.
From a young age His love for playing football got him noticed by various football scouts and landed him a place at West Ham football academy. A bad injury abruptly stopped that from continuing and a spell of bad company allowed him to get into trouble, which in turn made him homeless at 16. These turn of events lead to a meeting at a hostel with an up and coming rap drill artist called Max who forged a good friendship and music partnership that created his first music venture The Smokey Boys.
After a few years and a few released videos the 2 parted company and Boy Sayso became solo and is working on his debut album ‘African London’. Another turn of events led home to play a small part in The first film Blacks can’t swim but now plays one of the leading roles in the 2nd edition Blacks Can’t Swim the Sequel’
The Summer Mobile Project Mobile – Lambeth working in Lambeth Larkall community in a bid to promote and enable the reduction in Serious Youth Violence. The bus is also a good visual way of alerting young people that there is a unit placed in a specific area at a specific time during the entire summer break.
By locating the mobile outreach in these wards, we are better equipped to reach the young people that are most at risk. The outreach unit will offer a variety of activities during the designated times in the selected areas.
Each activity is designed to educate and enhance responsibility among youth. Young people will be able to engage in:
Short film screenings specific shorts that address subjects such as mental health and wellbeing. Mentoring engaging with experienced youth workers and organisations
Motivational talks designed to help with goal setting and communication etc.
Interactive games designated gaming console for two players at a time.
Film project learning how to use mobile phones to create positive content. Social media awareness advice and help on how to stay safe online
This short film highlights some of the concerns and challenges that a community has faced living through a pandemic along with their thoughts on the vaccination.
With the increasing demand for an answers to how we can all remain safe in the current climate of COVID-19, and the need for clarity in regards to the vaccination requirements, we took to the streets of Havering to ask people in public how they experienced the various lockdowns and also to ask them what they thought about the vaccine.
1%
I have already had the vaccine
1%
definately would
1%
would not take
1%
unsure
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