YOUTH PROJECTS OR PRODUCTS within the SOTYC are YOUTH LED & YOUTH FED’ – being CO-DESIGNED with young people which we feel is vital to any project to foster
OWNERSHIP & PARTICIPATION.
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‘SHAPE YOUR GEN’ is our citywide youth voice forum as a collective where young people represent their communities.
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Shape Your Gen is also supporting Stoke-On-Trent city council in the new youth council venture, with local local high schools taking part
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SYG has informed our extensive youth research & feedback from young people regarding the youth-facing phone app, & the ENDZ project over the last 2 ½ years gathering ‘intel & ‘experienced’ ‘REAL DEAL unescapable poverty & ‘need’, that has informed the project & is our ‘motivating factor to #BETHECHANGE & create LEGACY.
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We have been further envisioned post-covid to drive the ENDZ & PHONE APP project forward & further impact in the lives of young people we support due to a significant increase in poverty levels & associated socio-economic issues, low self-worth & aspirations, mental health issues (such as youth suicide, social anxiety & depression), criminality (now seeing local knife crime resulting in a death) criminal exploitation (county lines etc) & unemployment .
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We have listened to what they want & what they don’t want - & how life in their own communities would improve if such a venue, purposeful engagements & lived experience leaders were available 7 days a week - which is contained within this vision.
Young people said:
WE DO WANT:
People who ‘get us ‘ (Lived experience leaders), stuff on after school, at night somewhere to go, something to do, get me ‘off road’, make new friends / get me out of my crib, music stuff gym, boxing, cool hip-hop nights, gaming, sport, computers, art space, somewhere I can launch my own fashion range, someone to help you when your head falls off, cool equipment like youth club stuff, somewhere show your talents off, job skills, cool café, junk golf, geeks library, somewhere to go with my baby so I’m not left out, people to talk to be yourself ,girls area where you don’t have put up with lads s****. To know what I can do when & easy to get to that doesn’t cost much .
WE DON’T WANT:
Old community & Church halls, ripped pool tables, People in suits telling us about our life, somewhere that isn’t our own like where you can’t graft it up or make a noise, Old ladies (lol), somewhere that’s cheesy, crap music, broken equipment, only once a week cos’ it’s not enough. People telling you to be quiet & chattin about things you don’t ‘get’. Not bein real. People being racist.
Young people need ‘authentic youth ownership’ & ‘STAND FOR SOMETHING, RATHER THAN FALL FOR EVERYTHING’.
They need projects that will actively identify potential leadership skills within themselves to identify with & KNOW that they aren’t a ‘mistake’ - but are purposed to contribute positively to this world - especially targeting young people who are ‘already leading‘ but in negative ways such as gang life & ‘on road’ (on the streets ).