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Hate Crime Awareness Week 18-24 October – Get involved

Hate Crime Awareness Week has arrived from 18th-24th October! Remember, Report It if you experience it or see it happening. YCSA is a hate crime 3rd party reporting centre, contact us at enquiries@ycsa.org.uk or 07842 792 843.

See the impact of hate crime on peoples lives here: https://youtu.be/00xVGjwRqcs; https://youtu.be/1n1bkhR3X4c. And see whats happening next week in Glasgow – 18-24 Oct in support of Hate Crime Awareness Week. Get involved by clicking on the link below for free tickets!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/glasgow-is-no-place-for-hate-hate-crime-awareness-week-2020-tickets-122386500317?fbclid=IwAR1sflov88WK_b99eDTWzHn4MuZGNoL5RMa9SjJSL2GmZbZmDGMPI1j9ZPs

#GlasgowIsNoPlaceForHate#ReportHateCrime#HCAW2020#HateCrimeAwarenessWeek#HateCrime

YCSA is Recruiting Now!

YCSA is recruiting for the following posts:

Safe, Happy & Confident Programme Lead: (work with 16-25 age group) – 35 hours per week

Salary: £ 26989.00  per annum

Base: YCSA Office at 48 Darnley Street, Glasgow, G41 2SE

Funded by Comic Relief for 2 years

Safe, Happy & Confident Development Worker: (work with 16-25 age group) – 35 hours per week

Salary: £ 24670.00  per annum

Base: YCSA Office at 48 Darnley Street, Glasgow, G41 2SE

Funded by Comic Relief for 2 years

Safe, Happy and Confident  will work with Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) young people including refugees/asylum seekers, aged 16-25, experiencing homelessness or insecure housing and with BME young offenders/ ex-offenders / those at risk of offending. The aim is to provide a safe nurturing space and supports that can enable young people to develop and achieve their potential, reaching positive destinations such as a stable home, college or employment.

Group activities will help overcome isolation, build skills and confidence and promote health and wellbeing – to include: music, photography, film, fun English language learning, in accordance with the young people’s needs/interests. Young people will receive 1:1 mentoring and coaching support as and when needed. Practical supports will include accompanying young people to appointments as required e.g. to homeless services.

Programme Lead – The Programme Lead will have the responsibility of providing strategic direction for the programme, with responsibilities for accurately reporting to funders in addition to monitoring and evaluation of the programme.  The Programme Lead will be responsible for managing a small team, made up of a Development Worker, sessional staff and volunteers. The team will deliver intensive one to one support and group programmes.  The Programme Lead will work closely with the YCSA Manager to seek appropriate funding for the development and continuation of the programme and to link the work with the development of YCSA’s strategic direction. 

Reports to: YCSA Manager

Development Worker – The role of the Development Worker is to support and empower young people from BME backgrounds to become active and valued members of society.  To develop and deliver a high quality service which provides  groupwork activities and 1:1 individual, person-centred support empowering young people to overcome disadvantage and reach positive destinations.  To ensure service outputs are delivered effectively and outcomes achieved. 

Reports to: Safe, Happy and Confident Programme Lead

YCSA is an equal opportunity employer and is determined to ensure that applicants are treated equally, regardless of their sex, gender re-assignment, age, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity, marital status, or race. The Programme Lead is not open to job share.

People from BME and other disadvantaged communities are encouraged to apply. 

Please download all of the Job Pack to apply and if you would like more information please contact us on the details below:

Email: enquiries@ycsa.org.uk | Phone: 07842792843 | 0141 420 6600 | Address: 48 Darnley Street, Pollokshields, Glasgow, G41 2SE

Closing date for applications: 12 midday Thursday 29th October, 2020

Job-Description-Safe-Happy-and-Confident—Programme-Lead-Oct-20Download
Job-Description-Safe-Happy-and-Confident—Development-Worker-Oct-2020Download
Application-Form-2018-1Download
Equal-Opportunities-1Download
Notes-of-Guidance-2018-1Download

Glasgow Communities Fund- Impact of withdrawal of funding to Youth Community Support Agency

Youth Community Support Agency (YCSA) is the only Black and Minority Ethnic led youthwork organisation that works with BME young people, including asylum seekers, from across Glasgow City.  A Scottish Charity it has been working to support BME young people for over 25 years, helping thousands of young people over that time.

As a BME led organisation it is able to provide a range of faith and culturally appropriate services that support young people, and their families, that other agencies are unable to reach. BME young people from a wide range of backgrounds, who do not engage with mainstream services feel safe, comfortable and supported at YCSA.

YCSA’s bid to the new Glasgow Communities Fund was to continue work with young people aged 15-24 to provide a range of services including Counselling in schools and the community, practical advice, help and referrals, employability support, development work including creative arts and sports, ESOL, volunteer support and work to encourage civic engagement and to encourage BME young people to have their voices heard and achieve their dreams.

This work, formerly funded by Glasgow City Council, has not been recommended for any future funding, as a result of which these services will have to terminate and the future sustainability of YCSA will be in doubt. This will create  a huge gap in support for BME young people as no-one else provides this range of services  for this age group.

 This is devastating news for YCSA and the young people it works with, especially at this time given that it is widely recognised that BME young people have been particularly impacted by the COVID19 lockdown. While BME unemployment is already significantly higher than the overall population, in any downturn the gap grows, and with the COVID downturn this is hitting BME young people’s life chances.

Examples of young people we have supported recently include:

  • asylum seekers who were moved into hotels during lockdown and were caught up in the Park Inn stabbing incident – practical help and counselling has been provided;
  • young people Not in Education, Employment or Training, who lack confidence, do not understand systems and do not feel comfortable or confident initially, have been able to develop confidence and skills and move onto education or employment;
  • those with limited English have been able to engage in innovative ways to improve their language skills while also making new friends and developing other soft employability skills;
  • homeless young people have been supported though their trauma and guided to appropriate support services.

This decision seems particularly ironic in the light of the recognition of the impact of racism highlighted by the Black Lives Matter campaign.

YCSA urges the Council to reconsider before the decision is taken at the meeting on Thursday, and asks that funding is made available to be able to provide these valuable services.

We are looking for Youth Support/Mentor Volunteers

Youth Community Support Agency
Location: 48 Darnley Street, Glasgow
(project delivery currently online)

Are you passionate about supporting young people to achieve their goals and reach positive destinations?

The Youth Community Support Agency (YCSA) is recruiting a team of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers to help deliver the following two projects:

Young People Looking Forward (YPLF) supports young people aged 14-18 most impacted by lockdown, cancellation of exams, and disruption to their education. It is aimed to give them back hope for the future, increase confidence, widen their choices, develop soft skills needed for employability, and help prepare them for positive destinations in life beyond school. YPLF is funded by BBC Children in Need.

Safe Happy Confident (SHC) supports BME young people aged 16-25 who are at risk of homelessness or offending by providing 1:1 support and creative group projects that empower young people to improve their resilience, expand their social network and achieve their goals. SHC is funded by KFC and Comic Relief.

(Please specify in your application which project you would like to support.)

Your Role as a Volunteer:

You will be a great communicator, empathetic listener and have some previous experience working with and supporting young people. You may also have personal lived experience of the asylum, benefits or justice systems which would equip you to mentor and guide others.

The ability to speak an additional language commonly spoken by Scottish BME communities, such as Arabic, would also be helpful.

Both YPLF and SHC are looking for youth support volunteers and mentor volunteers. Details will be discussed further during the volunteer interview.

As a youth support volunteer, you may provide either short-term support to young people or accompany them over a longer period of time as they work towards achieving their goals. This may include supporting young people to:

·   Set goals

·   Improve their CV and prepare for interviews

·   Help find employment, education and training opportunities

·   Practice English

·   Complete official forms such as benefits applications

·   Decide on what they want to do next

As a mentor volunteer, you will provide targeted short-term support to young people in overcoming & addressing issues around Education / Employability Progression. This may include:

·   Exploring Motivation & Blockages

·   Exploring Pathway opportunities

·    Exploring Personal Development Needs & Issues

·   Exploring Expectations & Hopes

·   Exploring Future Personal Outcomes

 Volunteers will need a somewhat flexible schedule and the ability to commit to a minimum of 3 hours per week. Some evening and weekend working may be required on occasion.

During COVID-19 lockdowns, sessions will be held virtually, therefore access to the internet and a laptop, tablet or mobile device will be necessary. YCSA staff will endeavour to provide any training and support needed to assist you in your working.

YCSA requires all volunteers to be PVG certified and will provide the necessary training to work with children and vulnerable adults. Additional volunteer training and supervision will also be offered.

If you are interested please email TiffanyHaraguchi@ycsa.org.uk for more information on how to apply.

Scottish Charity Number: SC026233
Company Number: SC313463

Healthy Young Minds Project is Underway!

 YCSA HEALTHY YOUNG MINDS

Healthy Young Minds is a project organised by YCSA and funded by Comic Relief. The project is aimed at promoting mental health and resilience, by providing counselling, art therapy and groupwork in partner schools and from our offices. A particular emphasis will be placed on transitions from Primary to Secondary school & tackling discrimination by celebrating the right to be different.

Healthy Young Minds works with Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) young people, including asylum/refugee and new migrants, aged 10-16 (P7 to S4) in Govanhill and Pollokshields.

Healthy Young Minds also offers therapeutic support to parents and carers of BME young people in that age range, and will work with teachers to help them with wellbeing approaches. 

Counselling provides a safe space to speak about anything that is affecting your life with someone who will not judge you and will listen openly to you. Counselling can help with better self-awareness, which can increase confidence, self- esteem and overall resilience. Together with the counsellor, you can learn new tools and approaches to help with problems and issues in your life. YCSA offers a range of Counselling models: integrative, person centred, psychodynamic and cognitive behavioural therapy. (CBT) The counsellor can tailor their theoretical approach accordingly to suit the needs of the client.

Art therapy offers a protected and caring space for you to express what you experience and affects your life using both words and art materials. You don’t have to be “good” at painting or drawing, art therapy is about expressing and communicating through playful making and doing what is sometimes difficult to say with words. You will decide together with the art therapist what the focus of the sessions will be and overall art therapy will aim to help you nurture the relationship with yourself and others.

                     What is available and how does it work

·        Individual and small group counselling and art therapy for BME young people (from P7 to S4): 50-minute-long weekly sessions usually for the length of a term; the sessions will be confidential whilst safeguarding concerns will be communicated appropriately; information will be protected according to Data Protection policies; the art made will be stored safely and confidentially. Small groups will focus on the topic of identity and empowerment. If you are interested talk to your teacher or pastoral care officer to be referred. Referrals can also be made directly to YCSA.

·        Counselling and art therapy support for parents / carers of BME young people aged 10-16: please contact the school or if preferred YCSA directly (contact below).

·        Groupwork with schools for teachers and the whole class: techniques from art therapy and counselling will be used to discuss issues around racism, difference and discrimination, as well as ideas of empowerment and the right to be different.

A note on the term BME: we are aware that this term is contested and you might not want to identify with something that might sound like a label, we are using this term as it is most widely accepted in the West of Scotland at present, but we will be very happy to discuss this with you!

For more information about Healthy Young Minds you can contact YCSA

enquiries@ycsa.org.uk

Tel: 0141 420 6600

Mobile: 07842 792843

YCSA is Recruiting for a new Project!

YCSA is recruiting for the following post:

Young People Looking Forward Programme Lead: (to work with 14-18 age group)

Salary: £ 26989.00 per annum

Base: YCSA Office at 48 Darnley Street, Glasgow, G41 2SE

Funded by BBC Children In Need initially for 18 months

The Programme Lead is responsible for the management, development and delivery of the Young People Looking Forwardprogramme funded by BBC Children in Need

YCSA Young People Look Forward is a new project designed to work with Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) young people aged 14 -18 most impacted by lockdown, cancellation of exams, and disruption to their education. It is aimed to give them back hope for the future, increase confidence, widen their choices, develop soft skills needed for employability, and help prepare them for positive destinations in life beyond school.

YCSA Young People Look Forward will provide two main workstreams:

a) Groupwork programmes around employability and activity groups to develop confidence and soft skill.

b) Mentoring primarily carried out by volunteers from BME backgrounds who can provide young people with role models and help them widen their perspective on future possibilities.

The Programme Lead will be an experienced youth worker with experience of developing and managing projects. The Programme Lead will have the responsibility of providing strategic direction for the programme, with responsibilities for accurately reporting to funders in addition to monitoring and evaluation of the programme.  The Programme Lead will be responsible for managing a small team, made up of sessional staff and volunteers.  The Programme Lead will work closely with the YCSA Manager to seek appropriate funding for the development and continuation of the programme and to link the work with the development of YCSA’s strategic direction. 

Reports to: YCSA Manager

PVG Scheme: The role requires individuals to join the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme if not already a member. The post is subject to the Scheme Record accessed prior to the post commencing.

YCSA is an equal opportunity employer and is determined to ensure that applicants are treated equally, regardless of their sex, gender re-assignment, age, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity, marital status, or race. The Programme Lead is not open to job share.

People from BME and other disadvantaged communities are encouraged to apply. 

Please download all of the Job Pack to apply and if you would like more information please contact us on the details below:

Email: enquiries@ycsa.org.uk | Phone: 07842792843 | 0141 420 6600 | Address: 48 Darnley Street, Pollokshields, Glasgow, G41 2SE

Closing date for applications: 12 midday Thursday 29th October, 2020

YCSA-Recruitment-PolicyDownload
Notes-of-Guidance-2018-1-2Download
Equal-Opportunities-1-2Download
Application-Form-2018-1-2Download
Job-Description-Young-People-Look-Forward-Programme-Lead-Oct-20Download

In addition to the role above we are also still in the process of recruiting for both a Programme Lead and Development worker for the new Safe, Happy & Confident programme funded by Comic Relief. Click here to see the vacancies and their job pack to apply: https://ycsa.org.uk/work-with-us/recruitment/

October Week Programme!

Our free October Week programme begins Monday 12th-Friday 16th October, 11AM-4PM! There will be fun arts & crafts, games & activities to do each day. We will provide a healthy lunch & snack! Social distancing and numbers will be accommodated for. So if you’re a BME 11-18 yr old (or know someone who is), please contact Javed at javedsattar@ycsa.org.uk to register asap – spaces are limited.