Project to get young lives back on track in Heathfield
Published on Monday 30 January 2012 09:00, Sussex Express Website
HEATHFIELD celebrates a national first this week with the successful completion of one groundbreaking youth project - and the start of the next.
For more of the article please click on the document below.
Christmas charity appeal 2011: Tomorrow's People turns teenagers' lives around
Please click on the document below to read the full article that appeared in The Observer on the 18 December.
New 10 week employment programme begins January 2012.
Limited places available.
If you are aged between 16-19 living in Heathfield and Waldron Parish.
Not working, training or in education and prepared to participate 100% to gain employability skills.
Interested?
Then please contact Julie or Frances for further information:
Julie Kaye: 07710 230715
jkaye@tomorrows-people.co.uk
Frances Conway: 07795 174055
fconway@tomorrows-people.co.uk
The first group of participants were presented certificates of achievement by Councillor Rupert Simmons and The Baroness Stedman-Scott on Friday 2 December at the Heathfield Youth Centre. The pilot project is the first in the country to support disadvantaged 16 - 19 year olds into work, training or further education.
The group's achievements were celebrated by their friends and family, employers and local dignitaries. The Baroness, Chief Executive of Tomorrow's People, warmly congratulated the participants and thanked the local community and businesses for their support of the project.
All of the participants are now in employment or further training. The next group will start in January 2012. Interviews are currently underway; there are limited places available so please contact Julie Kaye on 07710230715 if you are interested.
The first cohort started in September and finished the course at the end of November. They have all found work placements. Please click below for press coverage.
The picture shows the first cohort attending the first Wealden Expo held in Heathfield in October 2011.
To meet the level of local interest ‘THE HEATHFIELD HUNDRED' supporters group was launched to show their appreciation of local support and as a way of highlighting the real community spirit that exists in Heathfield and the local parish.
Please click on the link below for a list of community supporters who have helped with gifts in kind, volunteering, mentoring, 'taster days' work experience and paid employment for the first cohort of Heathfield Works!
Helping Young People in Heathfield into Employment, Education and Training
Tomorrow's People is a national employment charity that works with long term unemployed people to help them get and keep a job. Since it was established in 1984, the charity has helped over 440,000 people from disadvantaged communities around the UK on their journey back to work.
Tomorrow's People has been successfully running programmes for disadvantaged young people in inner city areas since 2004, but we have been worried for some time that the difficulties faced by 16-19 year olds in rural areas are even more complex and have been largely ignored by government and policy makers. The issues these young people face are hugely exacerbated by the lack of job opportunities in rural areas and the networks to link them to potential employers for training or work experience. The cost and availability of public transport to reach vital support services is at crisis point for young people without private transport - the nearest JobCentrePlus for young people on one of our programmes is over 15 miles away and the journey costs between £6-8 return!
Young people not in employment, education or training in small communities have nowhere to hide. With no post-school support, they quickly lose their confidence and motivation. They just do not know how to go about getting work and when their peers tell them there are no jobs, they lose hope. With nothing to do and no money to do it with, they feel written off and labeled, often getting involved in petty crime, drug taking and anti-social behaviour.
Heathfield Works!
Heathfield Works! is a life changing 10-week programme developed by Tomorrow's People in conjunction with Heathfield Partnership Trust to transform the prospects of disadvantaged young people in some of the country's most isolated rural communities. The programme prepares young people for employment and encourages the local business community to support them in volunteering activity, work experience placements and ultimately, paid employment. The programme which runs four times a year, is entirely funded by charitable donations.
Heathfield Works! is designed to help the hardest-to-reach young people to overcome the difficulties that they face, and to gain confidence, motivation and skills to turn their lives around.
The village of Heathfield takes seriously the problems faced by its young people. It has a strong community infrastructure and a business network that is fully committed to supporting the project with work experience, job placement, mentoring and in-kind donations. Heathfield Works! is fully integrated into the community, working in partnership with local organisations and building strong partnerships with local businesses, police and fire service, and volunteer groups for activities such as one-to-one mentoring, work tasters, job shadowing, and work experience.
The project has seen great success, with all participants moving on either to college, into full time jobs, work placements or apprenticeships. However, to ensure that their success is long term, the Heathfield Works! team sticks with them and their employer or college offering support and advice.Outcomes to be proud of!
We are delighted that all 10 young people accepted onto the first programme of Heathfield Works! in September 2011 completed the course and went on to college, work experience, apprenticeships and paid employment.
These young people do not benefit from contacts with the business world, the local community and other support networks to help them move forward with their lives. However, the support of Heathfield Works! means they are able to start their journey to active and contributing citizenship.
One of the biggest problems our young people have is not their determination to move forward with their lives, but the barriers they face in accessing the world of work. We are immensely proud of what Heathfield Works! has achieved and we want to take the programme to other isolated towns and villages which have nothing to offer young people who want to live and work in the local community.
Tomorrow's People believes that Heathfield Works! is a winning formula and we have a 5-year vision to open the same Works! model in other rural communities around the country.
We are very ambitious for Heathfield Works! and we are currently raising funding to ensure that the project will continue to run through the April 2012/13 financial year and beyond.
We've made an excellent start to that effort - Heathfield Works! is one of eight youth charities nominated as The Guardian/Observer Christmas Appeal Charities 2011. Look out for coverage which started on 26 November.
Heathfield Works next programme commences January 2012, with places limited, pre-selection interviews are taking place now. Please contact Julie or Frances for further information.
Julie Kaye Frances Conway
Team Leader Community Relations
07710 230715 07795 174055
jkaye@tomorrows-people.co.uk fconway@tomorrows-people.co.uk
For more information on Tomorrow's People please visit:
www.tomorrows-people.org.uk
As at 29 November 2011
