It’s been a busy couple of months for our Bike Project team. Two school based projects have come to an end and once again we have witnessed young people move from a place of low confidence, to one where they confidently and enthusiastically attack challenges. Whilst they pick up the ability to do this through working on bikes, all the while our team of support workers are discussing with them how they can achieve similar results in other areas of their lives. Some of the feedback that we’ve had from the Bike Project participants is below.

“Have learnt new skills and I’m going to use them to fix my friends’ bikes.”

“I really enjoyed coming to the Bike Project, I feel much more confident, the team are great role models.”

“The Bike Project was really good, I have learnt a lot about myself and my behaviour.”

“I’m really glad that I came to the Bike Project, I feel so much better about school.”

We’re also really pleased that our work in skate parks is taking off. Last summer we were invited to run a more informal Bike Project at Potterne BMX track in Verwood. We had a blast working with the young people there, and East Dorset Council have commissioned us to return for a whole year. We’d like to thank Synergy Housing for funding this project.

We also been working at 2 Riversmeet Skate Park in Christchurch. Things got a little quiet over Easter so we headed down there for two extra sessions. The young people were really welcoming and appreciated the hot chocolate that we had for them, especially as it was snowing the first week that we went. We also got to catch up with a young lad that took park in a school based Bike Project last.

The first IMPACT Skate Festival took place at the Swanage skate park on Saturday 23^rd March. The event, which was organised IMPACT with the help of students from Bournemouth University, attracted over 400 visitors. Many of these were excited young people that were able to skate and ride alongside professional extreme sports athletes from King Ramps, a team hired for the day.

The team from King Ramps entertained the crowds with daring demonstrations, performing flips and spins accompanied by entertaining commentary. They were joined by Soly Bloomfield, a member of the Grit Scooter pro team at just twelve years old, who performed stunning tricks and worked brilliantly to engage with local young people interested in developing their scooter skills. The festival really hit the right note with the young people that attended. First and foremost it was all about putting on an extreme sports event for them. They were able to get tips and advice from world renowned athletes, as well as watch them exhibit their skills. Competitors were also entered into a prize draw to win a new BMX donated by the IMPACT Bike Project team. It was won by a local young man that our team have gotten to know as they work on Friday evenings, he was a very deserved winner.

Skate park fundraiser and IMPACT volunteer Lorna Haines continues that this event is a big step forward in the development of the park.

“I’ve been working with the skate park for just over 10 years. The original one was wooden ramps that were condemned and this disillusioned the young people using it. After speaking to the youngsters it became clear they really wanted a skate park and we were able to raise some initial funds in 2003. We’ve had a grant from Living Spaces and we run a market stall to continue to raise funds. Half of the park is completed but we need another £68,000 to finish installing the ramps. Eventually I became involved with IMPACT and this has brought the two projects together. The Skate Festival has done a great job of exhibiting how much the local young people appreciate this facility. We hope that this event has grabbed the attention of those that may wish to fund the rest of the construction.”

The festival also featured performances from local bands. Five piece City Skies from Portsmouth delivered a set of energetic tracks full of attitude. They were followed by a Swanage based beat boxer called Fred Condie that brought a fresh dimension to the musical offering. Finally local band Saturday Sun brought together melodic tunes and musical prowess to bring the event to a climactic close.

Those interested in helping to find the skate park can contact Lorna via Impact, info@impactmakingadifference.co.uk.

IMPACT has worked in Swanage since 2008, engaging with young people as they socialise in open spaces. This model of youth work allows the IMPACT team to build meaningful relationships where the young people can get advice and support as they develop from teenagers to young adults.

Follow this link to see the video and pictures from the festival.

We are in need of a volunteer to clean the Steam Café twice a week, ideally on a Friday afternoon and sometime between Saturday and Monday evening. 

The times stated are required to ensure the building is clean on a Friday night when we open and to clean up the mess from Friday nights before the building is used again the following week. 

The duties would include,

Toilets – cleaning the toilets, refilling the hand towel and toilet rolls, checking for damage, empty bins

Café – Pack away tables, vacuum, clean window sills, and arrange furniture ready for the café to open, empty bins

Coffee bar – Tidy up, put out tuck, wipe down, put clean cups next to hot water dispenser, empty bins,

Kitchen/office – clean desk, vacuum, wash up anything left in the sink, put away, clean sink. Check fridge and clean as required, empty bins.

Please get in touch if you can help. info@impactmakingadifference.co.uk – 01202 474992.

Impact is hosting a BMX and Skate Festival in Swanage on 23^rd March this year. The event is set to take place on Saturday the 23^rd March 2013. It will be held at Swanage Skate Park adjacent to King George’s field and will feature; a skate and BMX skills show, competitions, live local bands, DJ sets, fairground rides and a range of different stalls from local businesses. 

The U.K’s top professional extreme sports show, King Ramps will also be there to perform skill shows and coaching. The group will be doing demonstrations on skateboards, BMXs and scooters, as well as delivering competitions in each discipline with prizes for the winners. 

The event will also feature performances from two local bands, Saturdaysun and City Skies. There will also be fairground rides for younger children, food outlets and exhibition space for local businesses.

Lorna Haines, a member of Impact teams in Swanage has spent over 5 years raising the funds and organizing the installation of the skate park for local young people. The first phase of the park has been in place for 3 years and is regularly used and enjoyed by many. The hope is that the event will showcase this to the community and help attract the attention of funders to complete the final phase of the skate park’s construction. 

The festival will also play a large part in increasing awareness of Impact within Swanage. This project began in 2008 and involves a team of local volunteers that head out onto the streets on Friday nights to meet young people. By getting to know them and offering hot drinks and cakes, the team develops relationships that enable them to support the young people through the transition into adulthood. Impact is well known amongst the young members of the Swanage community, but by putting on an event the reaches everyone the aim is for people of all ages to get to know Impact a little better. 

A group of students studying events management at Bournemouth University are working with the Impact team to help put the event together. 

Entry for the extreme sports competitions costs £2 and will include entry to a prize draw. Competitors can sign up on the day or download an entry form from our website soon.

 If anyone is interested in hiring exhibition space at the festival then please get in touch. info@impactmakingadifference.co.uk – 01202 474992.

Impact will be increasing its street based ‘detached’ outreach in the Littlemoor area of Weymouth. This is thanks funding from Weymouth and Portland Council, and Synergy Housing. Detached youth work is about engaging with young people in their environment, not in a youth club, a church hall or a community centre, but out on the streets and in the places that they decide to socialise.

Since the summer of 2011 Impact have been operating a detached project in Weymouth, however this is been achieved by members of Impact’s Christchurch and Swanage teams traveling to the town on Saturday evenings. The recent funding will enable Impact to recruit and train a team of Weymouth based volunteers that can take this work to a new level and make a significant Impact upon the young people in Littlemoor. Impact Operational Manager Neil Robertson comments;

“The new team will ensure that the young people are safe, offer advice, practical help and encourage positive behaviour. Impact is delighted to have the opportunity to make a difference to the lives of young people in Weymouth.”

In 2006 Impact began this form of youth work in Christchurch and in 2008 a project was also launched in Swanage. Each of these projects make contact with young people on over 1000 occasions each year, and the meaningful relationships that develop allow the Impact teams to offer advice and step in to prevent harm when dangerous situations occur. Impact projects are proven to reduce anti-social behaviour and the number of under-18s admitted to hospital as a result of alcohol consumption.

If you would like to be a part of the Impact team in Weymouth, or have another skill that you would like to offer then please get in touch, info@impactmakingadifference.co.uk, 01202 474992. Impact would also be keen to hear from local businesses and organisations that would like to help support this work and work in partnership to be there for young people.

More information about detached youth work can be found here.

Impact would like to thank the Christchurch Carol Singers who raised £100.78p for Impact. The group were singing carols in the foyer at Sainsbury’s in Christchurch where Impact is charity of the year.

At Impact we regularly use this phrase, ‘Detached Youth Work’, when we talk about what we do. In fact we often use it so much that we sometimes forget that it is not a part of most people’s everyday vocabulary. So what is detached youth work actually all about? Lets clear up a myth. What it isn’t is anything to do with detaching ourselves from the young people. Detached young work is about engaging with young people in their environment. Not in a youth club, a church hall or a community centre, but out on the streets and in the places that they decide to socialise.

In Christchurch we have our own café/drop-in centre which opens up on the evenings that we do detached work. Places like this provide a warm and safe environment for young people to socialise. They can’t drink alcohol or take any other substances and the Impact team are there to support them whilst they are in the café. Does this mean that they won’t embark in these sorts of activities when they are not under the supervision of adults, or that we can expect every young person to attend a youth club or drop-in centre? Absolutely not. When you factor in a propensity to gather in play areas, skate parks and by rivers or the sea, the result is groups of young people whose judgement has been compromised by intoxication, socialising in some relatively dangerous places.

This was essentially the issue that sparked Impact. Our director Mike was working in various capacities with young people and realised that there was at the time, no place for young people to go on Friday evenings when they are most likely to be up and about late at night. He also found that despite a fantastic collection of youth clubs in the county, there were still young people that would rather get together elsewhere, and that the detached work that was taking place was irregular and far from effective.

There are many interesting stories of how Impact detached work really has made a difference in the lives of young people. Searching in the dark through a wooded area near Highcliffe Castle for a group of young people, a member of the Impact team stepped over what they thought was a log. It turned out to be a teenager unconscious through drink and left alone on a cold night. Our team were then able to ensure that the young person received the required medical attention and made it home safely. It doesn’t take a lot of alcohol to leave a teenager in this sort of state and one of the other effects that it has is upon their rationality. This often leads to hostility and on many occasions the Impact team have had to step in to either break up a fight or to stop one from starting. Acting as a voice of reason, comforting a distressed individual, or walking them away from a volatile situation.

As you can imagine instances such as these also require attention from the emergency services, and Impact is proud to be part of a collective approach to youth work. Often our role involves calming young people and keeping them at a distance so that the police or paramedics can do their job. Our partnerships also extend to the council and local community groups so that we keep our finger on the pulse and know where the needs are. By working together in this way we can play our part in making sure that Dorset remains one of the safest counties in the country to live in.

Whilst the ‘first response’ element of detached work certainly forms a significant part of what we do, there are also many weeks that pass by without incident. This forms the other aspect of our job, and that is relationship building. This is not only important for when the time comes to step in to prevent harm, but it also allows us to challenge the young people’s choice of behaviour. As a Christian organisation our faith motivates what we do, but preaching to drunk young people on the street is not effective. They don’t want to know and they’ll make sure that you know that. But through prayer away from the streets and by regularly giving advice through established relationships, we have witnessed young people make wiser decisions. The great thing is that they often pass this wisdom onto their friends, and it doesn’t take long before the danger of their socialising is reduced. Also, by showing them God’s love instead of telling them about it they soon ask questions about why we’re out giving them cakes and hot chocolate in the middle of the winter.

Feedback from our Young People

We recently asked the young people that visit the Steam Cafe on a Firday evening what they think about Impact. This is what they told us:

Impact is very helpful; they give me somewhere to go with my friends and be safe and warm. I love the Steam Café; the people are kind and helpful. There is nothing that could make it any better.

Impact make a lot of difference, they are ‘well cool’.

Impact is very good at providing a place for us to relax and chill out, as well as meet new people. The Steam Café is very good and we get free hot chocolate at certain times.

The Impact staff are really kind.

Impact is genius. You are constant, amazing, non-judgemental, loving, caring and give incredibly genius support. The Steam Café gives me somewhere to get out of the pressures of home.

Impact is awesome.

You give us a safe place to hang out.

The Steam Café is really good and relaxing, the staff are really helpful. It is somewhere to go off of the streets.

Impact is quality.

The Steam Café is really good, warm, comfortable, fun and great for socialising. It’s great to have a warm place to meet friends when it’s cold, and all year round. Please open more in half terms and just open more.

Impact is really good. You give the opportunity to socialise more with people. Please open more nights.

Impact is pretty ‘sick’. I love it. Don’t change anything, it’s ‘amazeballs’.

I think that the Steam Café is a great place and it’s good because it’s somewhere I can go on a Friday night. It means that I’m not going out potentially getting in trouble, and I get to see my friends.

You are perfect the way that you are.

Impact give us somewhere safe to go.

Impact is awesome! The people are amazing. I wouldn’t be allowed out to have a social life if Impact wasn’t open. The Steam Café is really good and warm; I don’t think anything should change, although it could open a little earlier.

Alex Noble from Sainsbury’s in Christchurch is walking a cross country marathon (25.5miles) to raise money for Impact. You can sponsor Alex by clicking on this link http://www.justgiving.com/ALEXNOBLE1.

Impact is Sainsbury’s Christchurch Charity of the Year for 2012/13. Sainsbury’s and their staff are supporting us in a number of ways including placing collection pots by their tills and by doing a variety of sponsored challenges. They will also be hosting a fashion show this Autumn (more info to follow).

Impact is really thrilled to announce that we have been nominated as Sainsbury’s Christchurch Charity of the Year. Impact collection pots will soon be placed by each checkout and the team will be able to collect donations in the store foyer. Additionally the team at Sainsbury’s will be taking on a number of challenges and hosting events to support our work. We will no doubt be keeping you up to date with these developments through our mailing list. If you don’t already receive e-mail updates from Impact you can do so by following this link.

The official launch of our partnership is Wednesday 1st August and late morning some of the Impact team will be in the store foyer collecting donations and sharing our work with shoppers. We’d really appreciate if you stopped by to say ‘hi’.

Impact would like thank Sandra Tapscott and her team at Sainsbury’s for supporting Impact.