Today we would like to share with you an insight into the programmes that we use at our Basingstoke Housing to support the young people we work with. Adam is our Engagement Co-ordinator there so we will hand over to him to tell you more:

Hello,

My name is Adam and I have the privilege of working closely with the young people that we house in Basingstoke to give them opportunities to develop life skills.

The ‘What works #Money project” is a partnership between YMCA Basingstoke and Basingstoke Citizens Advice Service. The aim of the funding is to help vulnerable and isolated young people, manage their money better and learn new skills.

We have found that the best way for young people to learn is from their peers, as young people very rarely like to communicate about their financial situation. Two of our young people were hired as peer mentors, to lead the program. An additional opportunity was identified in that we could also reach out to other young people in the Basingstoke area by blogging and vlogging, and using social media.

The young people that were taking part of the course were in fact directly helping other young people, by helping themselves. Each cohort was eight weeks long. The first cohort enjoyed a day at Fairthorne Manor on the activities, and sinking my kayak was the cherry on the cake for them! The second cohort were not so interested in the Fairthorne Manor trip (I think this was because it was mid-winter) for them the pinnacle was the match saving incentive – in one of the workshops they set up savings accounts. If they saved £80 over the eight weeks, then the project would match that saving. This course ended just before Christmas so for all those successful this was very welcomed!

We are currently working on the third cohort and will be reviewing the programme on ways we can improve it.

This has been a fantastic experience for our young people to be involved in, helping them to learn new skills. But more importantly they have gained a huge amount of confidence in dealing with their own financial situations.

See you again soon

Adam

Adam will be joining us again later on in our 60 Days to tell you more about some of the projects they are running with our young people in Basingstoke.