Our Stories:
Meet Jo

“Reestablish is all about creating opportunities for kids that would never have them otherwise. The most important thing for me is that where you’re born shouldn’t determine the rest of your life. And I think so often it does. If you can’t afford to eat, how can you afford to do creative stuff or day trips, the extra things that all cost money? Just because you don’t have a lot financially, doesn’t mean that we can’t pull together as a community and create some exciting opportunities in life.  

There’s a lot of challenge on the estate. Our kids have been exposed to all sorts of things. We do a lot of physical, emotional and mental wellbeing work. We create opportunities for kids to express their emotions. They’re surrounded by so much trauma, and they often don’t know that it’s trauma. We work with 120 kids on a weekly basis, but we had a footfall of just under 10,000 last year.  

I’m really passionate about people from the estate being part of the team. We’re a diverse team, both in life experience and personality. For me, that’s really important because it means that our kids have got different people they can connect to. They have role models right across the board.  

The work that we do is essential. It’s long-term, transformative change, with relationships we build over years. We couldn’t do what we do without the partnerships we’ve got and the funding we’ve received. We survived, really, thanks to Leeds Community Foundation grants. They’ve made a huge difference to us as a small charity.” 

Reestablish empower young people to discover and actively pursue opportunities to develop their potential and positively improve their lives, whilst enhancing the lives of others. They run drop-in’s, mentoring and community support, group work, trips, holiday camps and expeditions. Leeds Community Foundation funding has supported a range of their activities, including holiday clubs and work on the organisation’s strategic development.

If you want to play your part in supporting brilliant local Community Organisations like Reestablish, learn how you can support us, or reach out at info@leedscf.org.uk.