Autumn Reflections 2021

What an interesting and tough year it has been. Young people’s mental and emotional wellbeing has been massively impacted by a number of issues that are rocking through the world. We’ve noticed how these young people are navigating the media and the political driving forces within it and behind it that many have learned not to trust. Some are growing more resilient, some are struggling, but there is a lot of learning and growth happening however you look at it. And they can be so savvy too. It’s so important that we find ways to listen to what’s going on beneath the surface, ask open questions to encourage creative thinking and develop our approach to meet them. They show us so much.

The sessions we have been running in the local secondary school, the Pupil Referral Unit and the local neighbourhood community hall have been pulling these young people into a creative space together, providing a nugget of inspiration and hope at a time when it isn’t always apparent in those around. We didn’t anticipate how powerful this work could be but somehow it feels just right for this time we are living in.

In a world of lockdown zoom and online meetings, where we’ve been socially distanced it’s great to bring young people together to be social, to simply get together to make something collaboratively. It has felt fundamental to maintaining a level of creative engagement and mental health. One approach we are happy with is the way we create the parameters for young people to explore what they want to do, without leading them too strongly. It gives them a feeling of freedom which isn’t found easily at school or in the home. This style of mentoring is so important to build rapport and trust. Although we feel we’re doing this well, what we are endlessly discovering are where the edges of that are: freedom vs structure, 

Working with Youth Music in 2021 on the Beats and Streets project has helped us to step up further, reflect so much more on our practice, develop new tools for evaluation and recognise the ongoing challenge we have to meet young people where they are at so we can truly help them to take steps forward. 

We feel like a completely different organisation having come through this last year, arriving in this place of growth and within a new physical studio space in town which we can finally call our own. A place we hope where our young people can create their own ‘home’, a safe space to be, to explore, to express, to feel heard. 

There’s plenty of work to do but we’re ready. We are all ears.

Just watch this space!