Northside Youths

Northside Youth & Community Connections CIC Is a youth led non-profit organisation that have provided thousands of children and young people especially those who are not in education, employment or training, with free access to counselling, mentoring and recreational programs. In April of 2009 a diverse group of young individual's from across North London, age 11 - 25 came together and established the Northside Youth Panel, which enable children and young people to take on leadership roles in their community, and ensure that they are involved in the design, implementation and evaluation of programs and policies that affect not only their health and well-being but the community as a whole.

 

In which time we’ve seen unfortunate high levels of Gun and Knife crimes with many young people being victims of knife crime. The Young people from NYCC felt they needed to break down barriers by working together across the postcodes. As a result of this 2 key aims emerged:

 

• Bringing together young people from different areas to build friendships and Reduce conflict.

 

• Developing young people as leaders to make a difference in the community.

 

In May of 2012 NYCC were awarded the Community Shield award in recognition of there dedication and achievements whilst working with young people in Enfield, by the Enfield Association of Voluntary Youth projects. Statistics have shown that there was a noticeable reduction in crime, anti-social behavior and victimization amongst the young people of Enfield from 2010 - 2011, and that was due in part to the opening of the Northside youth Club in the Edmonton Shopping Centre back in 2010. The top two issues we are currently working on are:

 

1. Youth violence: With high crime and on employment London is not an easy place to be young. We are working hard to break down the postcode barriers, and we are encourage young people from different areas to come together and take part in our activities and programs, providing them with exciting opportunities they wouldn’t normally have access to.

 

2. Youth unemployment: Young people with low or no qualifications make up 39% of all young people unemployed and not in education, this is not solely a consequence of the recession. Even before the recession began, across London young people with low or no skills were three times more likely to be unemployed than those with higher skills. We plan on working on this by establishing a youth leadership academy. This will enhance young people’s sense of neighborhood pride and enable them to become community leaders and champions.

 

We’re here to support and challenge young people to become the best they can be. We will do this through an ever evolving range of contemporary programs covering youth action and youth leadership, sports development, employability, youth work training and tacking youth crime. It is important that all young people develop the skills needed to participate and succeed in the job market. A lot of our young leaders, volunteers and staff have gone through similar issues in the past. We believe that young people will listen to and be able to relate more to people their own age.

 

" The young people that attend NYCC Have seen what they can achieve and have been inspired to aim higher. "

 

With your support this year we plan to: Set up a program calledThe Youth Initiative, it is a scheme that was developed to give young people the opportunity to develop work related skills, participate in work related learning experiences that will increase social inclusion and community participation. This project will enable older & younger people to work together, develop confidence and self-esteem, reduce isolation and develop community relationships by providing a safe, accessible environment. The project will help Young people to integrate more with their community and change the attitudes, assumptions and preconceptions that the community have about them. The young people and volunteers will play the key roles in this project, we will be working in a collaborative manner with community organizations to address the needs of the young people.

 

In the first year of the project: Young people between the ages of 11 - 25 will be recruited from local schools, colleges, youth centres and the community to sign up to be part of a 15 week leadership programme. The young people will plan and deliver community events and activities. The aim is to train up to 30 young people at a time as youth workers. We would also train young people to be community youth consultants, they will gain a range of skills and qualifications to help them work with children and young people such as: Conflict resolution, Risk assessments, Communication, Team building, Money management, Public speaking, Event planning, Weapon awareness, gang mediation, and Youth Work Level 1 In the first year 90 young people will be trained up.

 

The young people will participate directly in activities, which they will initiate, set up and carry out the activities will be run by young people! For young people!. The Voluntary Initiative Team will plan a Peace march, Community fun day and host a peace conference uniting young people from Enfield and Haringey. The aim is to work with the local community groups, the police, local councilors and MPs. These events can show that young people from different postcodes can work together.

 

In the second year of the project: The young people that have taken part in the first round of the program and undertook the training that NYCC have provided will become community youth consultants. With all of the skills and knowledge they have Learnt over the last year they will be able to train the next set of young people in a range of different courses they will also support them to design and develop three more community events.They will be able to plan and deliver youth projects or consultations for various groups and organizations in Enfield and Haringey. Our aim is to produce and recognize a sustained commitment from young people to voluntary activity. It is important to us that all young people develop the skills needed to participate and succeed in the job market.

 

The beneficiaries of the project will be the young people, families of the children in conflict, children at risk living in Enfield and Haringey, adults that have a negative perception about young people, the local community and young people that don’t get on with the police. The project will enable people that normally wouldn't have the confidence to engage in activities or moved through different areas in their borough-estimated number of targeted population 7,000.

 

“ Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time We are the chains we seek ”

 

This is why we are seeking your support, this past year’s experience has shown us that there’s a greater need for our servicesin the community than we can currently support with existing staff and funds. Here are just a few of the benefits you would receive for your support: Formal acknowledgement of your donation, the knowledge that you have assisted thousands of children in improving their future.