Empowering Black and Minority Ethnic Young People

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Mending Our Planet Projects Underway!

We are running a number of free summer activities for 16-25 year old young people from Black and Minority Ethnic communities! Please find the posters attached for more information.

  • Summer Cycling Club co-run with Bike For Good is starting back up again from 16th of July at Bike For Good on Fridays from 2:30 -4pm. Bikes are provided to all participants and can be loaned after sessions are finished. Suitable for beginner cyclists. For ages 16 -25 years.
  • Cooking Classes co-run with Propagate will be starting on the 15th of July and running every Thursday from 2-4pm at the East Pollokshields Quad. For ages 16 -25 years.
  • Explore Glasgow Walking Group co-run with Outdoors For You will be starting on the 19th of July. These walking groups will allow young people to explore Glasgow and connect with nature. For ages 16 -25 years old.
  • Young Leaders Forum. For young people aged 12-25 years to learn climate literacy and leadership skills. They will receive free certified training and have the opportunity to take part in climate workshops.

Please register as soon as possible, so we can plan our sessions better for everybody.

See the posters for more info or contact chinyantakabaso@ycsa.org.uk or call 07394 451 718, if you have any questions.


*All government guidance on social distancing will be followed and all safety precautions will also be taken into account.*
This activity is funded by the Climate Change Fund. See more information at www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/ccf

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

Bike Club Starting 17th September!

Bike Club co-run with Bike For Good is back mid-September! If you’re BME, 10-25 and interesting in joining cycling sessions around Glasgow. We will meet up at YCSA, then walk to Bike For You and explore Glasgow on Thursdays and Fridays from the 17th of September for 4 weeks.

The first session will be mostly skills in the park – controlling the bike with skill, some games & activities to test people’s abilities, followed by a short ride

The sessions will be mostly ride based, cycling around queen’s park and the local areas, and there may also be a ride up around the Clyde River or some other scenic routes.

When registering please let us know your level of cycling, so we can plan our sessions better for everybody.

See the poster for more info or contact chinyantakabaso@ycsa.org.uk or call 07394451718.

*All government guidance on social distancing will be followed and all safety precautions will also be taken into account.*

This activity is funded by the Climate Change Fund. See more information at www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/ccf

Time For Us Activity Pack Available!

Check out the Time For Us activity pack brought to you from the Mental Heath Foundation. The activities are intended to get adults & children to talk about their feelings and are to be led by an adult – aimed specifically at young people aged 11-17.

They can still be used with younger children, you may just need to explain or change some of the activities slightly to make it easier to understand. They can be used with one person or as part of a bigger group.

The pack will offer some practical tools to complement our guidance around how to support your mental health and wellbeing during this global pandemic. Download the PDF pack by clicking here


New Fund for Digital Access and Interpreting

Hey everyone ! We just wanted to celebrate being awarded with this new fund from the @scottishrefugeecouncil and Foundation Scotland. Thank you so much. We are hoping that we can put this to good use, increasing digital access for young people, and especially asylum seekers and refugees. We will also be able to increase translating offered to our clients.