darren, Author at UK Youth 2020/2021 Impact Review

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    [post_content] => Following the murder of George Floyd and the resurgence of Black Lives Matter, Macie, an EmpowHER participant, became more politically active. She attended Black Lives Matter protests with her family, and was asked to speak to the crowd.
“I was terrified, but it is important. I spoke about colourism. I’ve been learning a lot about colourism because people think I’m black and think my sister is Asian. We get different types of racist comments, even though we are sisters”.
Macie spoke at the ‘Race’ British Red Cross role model event, educating attendees about colourism and presenting her experiences and advice to young people. The event received excellent feedback from young people and staff.
“That was the best explanation of colourism I have heard. I really understand now”.
    [post_title] => Macie’s story
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    [post_content] => Adam is 25, a talented footballer from Wirral. He always wanted to follow in his grandad’s steps and be a professional footballer. Unfortunately, worsening epilepsy meant he had to leave the academy he was training with.

Determined to stay in the world of football, he set his sights on becoming a coach instead. Adam was happily volunteering as a coach for Chester FC under 10s, when Covid-19 hit.
'‘As I had just turned 25 I was aware that I was on the ‘age group cusp’ of getting support as a young person. I was working with an organization that was supporting me with training and advice and looking for jobs when I heard about Reach Up.’’  
Adam had already been trying to coach young people online, so he knew how hard it was to facilitate a Zoom session. Seeing how Reach Up was facilitated taught him a lot, including how to manage breakout rooms.

When asked what he found most useful, Adam said:

"Going to interviews and getting knocked back can be a blow for me. I’m a confident person but it can be difficult being knocked back. I’ve even been laughed at in interviews before, which has knocked me a bit, so getting feedback this time was good. The volunteers said loads of positive things and gave me loads of reassurance that I’m doing the right things; it means I’m not second guessing myself in the future. The Job Centre would always have a go at me each week for jobs I didn’t apply for, so this experience was way more positive.’’  
''From that aspect it has helped me a great deal with connecting and has given me a good insight into everything else. If there was a factory around Chester I would give CocaCola a try and work there.’’  
Adam is still working closely with north-west based charity Youth Fed, and plans to help run some of their other programmes soon. He will also be putting his training bursary from Reach Up towards his level 1 coaching certification.

 

 

 
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    [post_content] => Susie, 14, is a carer for her mum. When her dad was involved in an accident, she supported her family and helped manage things around the house, and still didn’t miss a single session of Sound Creators.

Susie also has dyslexia, so she needs extra time and different formats to help her learn. Fortunately, she was able to access funding and benefit from additional one-to-one tutorials.
“I am usually a very shy person around new people and it took me a while to feel more relaxed and confident. [As time went on] I felt more free, and it felt like everyone was supporting each other to feel more open and free to express themselves. I met new people and I knew they were going through a similar situation to me and they know what it is like. This made me feel more comfortable to speak out a bit more. It helps to let people know what you are feeling and why, it’s about expression. I now think that your voice matters as much as your actions do!!”
“I valued learning how to give and receive feedback, I really liked the honesty of the feedback I got, and how this helped me improve – it helps me know which parts I need to work on – I think this is really going to help me in the future. My experience in one word, AMAZING.”
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“I was terrified, but it is important. I spoke about colourism. I’ve been learning a lot about colourism because people think I’m black and think my sister is Asian. We get different types of racist comments, even though we are sisters”.

“That was the best explanation of colourism I have heard. I really understand now”.

'‘As I had just turned 25 I was aware that I was on the ‘age group cusp’ of getting support as a young person. I was working with an organization that was supporting me with training and advice and looking for jobs when I heard about Reach Up.’’

''From that aspect it has helped me a great deal with connecting and has given me a good insight into everything else. If there was a factory around Chester I would give CocaCola a try and work there.’’

“I valued learning how to give and receive feedback, I really liked the honesty of the feedback I got, and how this helped me improve – it helps me know which parts I need to work on – I think this is really going to help me in the future. My experience in one word, AMAZING.”

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