Project Supporting Young People to Find Their Potential

Reestablish empower young people from areas of high deprivation to discover their potential and positively improve their lives.

With Leeds Community Foundation support they have been able to support vulnerable young people in their community with sessions that allow them to learn life skills, build healthy relationships and increase their confidence whilst getting fit.

 

Can you describe your organisation and the people/communities you support?

At Reestablish we empower young people aged 7 to 19 to discover their potential and activity pursue opportunities to develop their potential and positively improve their lives, whilst enhancing the lives of others.

As a small charity we have been hugely blessed through Leeds Community Foundation since setting up in 2015.  It has provided us with a great foundation through which to apply for funding opportunities for young people who really need it.

 

How have you been supported by Leeds Community Foundation and what has this funding enabled you to do? 

The support we have had through a range of Foundation funding enables us to raise our young people’s aspirations – developing early engagement projects for 7 to 12 year olds and focused projects for 13 to 19 year olds.

These sessions allow them to vocalise their pain, learn life skills, build healthy relationships and increase their confidence. All this whilst getting fit and developing a sense of belonging.

Our local kids are often exposed to high crime rates, domestic violence, the impact of addiction, gangs and loss as day-to-day norms. Your support makes a huge difference, reducing risk taking behaviour, increasing aspirational attainment and instilling hope.

 

Can you give us an example of an individual and or group and how they have responded to this work?

One of our 15-year-old lads struggles with anger – full of pain, having seen a lot of domestic violence and substance misuse, and feels regularly misunderstood.  Although very intelligent he struggles with ‘isolation and restraint’ in the school discipline system so has been excluded a lot.

He is very gifted at sport and regular engagement in our sports and life skill sessions has played a pivotal role in providing a safe place of constructive activity.  He is making far better life choices than he would have otherwise made.

“I want to thank you for taking me, it changed my life.  I used to have panic attacks all the time before I went and have hardly had them at all since, I’ve got back.  I now control my anger better and have gone back to school (Male, 15).”

 

What challenges and opportunities do you face as an organisation in the current climate?

Over this unprecedented season we have adapted how we work on the ground at various stages throughout the pandemic.  We have continued face to face support when allowed under the NYA guidelines, have delivered activity packs, food parcels and continued to support those within our community however we could.

 

How is your organisation preparing for the future, and what kind of funding is needed?

Throughout this year the educational divide between poverty and possibility has been heightened, risk taking behaviours and vulnerabilities magnified.  As we move forward, we hope to continue to help bridge the gaps in life aspirations and educational opportunities for vulnerable young people within our city.

The need for our young people to have their own locally owned space, out of which more sessions can be run and more support made available, for more and more young people within our area has become very clear through this year. Our hope moving forward is to make this possible.