As youth workers we do not only work with young people but are also working with parents, we have to acknowledge that young people operate/live/develop outside of the time that they are with us, sometimes youth workers think they are the ‘be all’ and ‘end all’ of influence over young peoples lives, youth workers with some sort of messiah complex! Therefore it is always important to monitor and evaluate our time with young people to ensure that it is the most it can be and it is a truly effective use of our time and theirs. This is a picture for Wednesday night dinner with 4 young volunteers, a very special time with deep conversation about life, in this conversation Fiona and I were able to raise questions about the assumptions that the young people had made about a number of issues, sharpening and helping them to develop their world view rather just accepting what they have been told. Youth work in context is amazing, but it should always be in context.

An example of this is when the Canaan Project think we have something we think would be ‘good’ for the young people, like a new experience that they might develop or grow from, whether that be through new knowledge or new experience. Examples of these might be a trip to an Architect so they can explain about their job and what they do, or it might be completing a High Ropes course (blogged about a couple of weeks ago, here). It requires trust from young people and this is only developed in relationship with young people which is only developed from listening to and acting upon the needs of young people even if this is making Brownies! Making Brownies is essential work, and might only seem like a small and maybe even insignificant part of the work but isn’t.

Some of our work is about breaking down these barriers and helping young people to process these negative messages and finding acceptance. ‘Hugging a Hoodie’ is not the same as sitting down with them and building a relationship with them hearing their stories and looking at the individual. These trusting relationships is what will make a difference for some young people and could lead to feelings of acceptance. Some young people are likely to affiliate with gangs (I use the term lightly and cautiously – could just be groups of young people) because they feel accepted by those young people, rather than judged. This only affects some young people, but universally all young people (and Adults) like/need to feel accepted and as they move into adulthood they find this from a variety of sources and the Canaan Project helps some young people along on this journey of acceptance.

Again, not to reinvent the wheel but point out a campaign that continues to inspire me – the 99 Per Cent Campaign. Positive news stories about amazing and beautiful young people.

We then spent a good 30 mins talking about shaving and celebrating his shave together. It is great to be able to celebrate with children their movement to adulthood, this is often missed or not appreciated as they are so desperately aiming for adulthood and missing out on being children. Another important role of the Canaan Project.

Last week at the Canaan Younger session on a Monday evening we started up cooking again. It was great fun, two groups of young people (a group of young women lead the way and then a group of young men) got involved and seemed to have a great time. It was lovely to listen to them talking and showing each other what to do. Peer support is such an important aspect of young people lives and the support of good friends and the network you build can really help in later life. Some said they had learnt new skills and developed new understanding from cooking whether that be how to chop an onion to how to cook a burger (as pictured) life skills that we really help, although they will need some variety in their diet, and not too many burgers!

It was also great fun for them to share the work of their hands, with their peers. The boys were at first suspicions of getting involved but after eating all the burgers that the young women had made and deciding that they tasted great and it maybe worth a little bit of hard work to get some more, again a golden life lesson. They all also seemed to have a great time, and having fun is such an important aspect of the work for as a Youth Worker sometimes it is too easy to ‘accredit the fun’ out of the activities that young people are doing, so that activities that once were fun become boring. Here’s to having fun!!

In the de-brief after the session the young volunteer said it was the most hectic session he had ever had, but one of the most enjoyable. Lots of the young people got involved and really got in to it. 2 or 3 of the young people really enjoyed learning about how to take pictures and about lights and shutter times etc etc but most wanted to be in front of the camera striking poses. Sometimes working with young people is hilarious and watching them striking moody poses in front of the camera making sure the light is right to ensure that they get the perfect Facebook profile picture made me chuckle!

This is why we run the Canaan Project. If it were not for the Canaan Project they would not have the opportunity to learn these new skills. But actually, more importantly (we believe), they would not have the opportunity to interact with another member of their local community and learn about what they are interested in and the skills they have developed.

I spoke to two 12 year old boys on Monday of this week from two completely different areas that had not had good relationships with their biological fathers. Subsequently they had both built relationships with step fathers but both said they were ‘sad’ about not seeing or knowing their ‘real’ dad. Both of the young men also have tendencies to push boundaries and try our patience; incidentally their behaviour is actually very different, but equally disruptive. I am NOT saying the fact that they ‘miss’ their biological fathers is a direct cause of their challenging behaviour, but what it did remind me of was that young people face diverse and difficult situations and these have knock on consequences of which we see in our sessions.

Although, as we mentioned in a previous blog, managing challenging behaviour and young people pushing boundaries is an essential part of a youth workers role, it is important to recognise the limits of that role. We are only with young people for short periods each week and actually they are going back to homes or situations that are difficult and that they find challenging. When dealing with behaviour we have to realise the bigger picture the wider context otherwise it is like us trying to put a sticking plaster on a broken leg. Saying all that those 2 hours that they are with us can be the most life changing, informative, inspirational, shaping hours of that young persons life and that is what we are aiming at.

In other news: we are excited to be heading toward the Christmas period which for the Canaan Project means the amazing Christmas Quiz night! This was a real hit last year and we are hoping for a similar reaction this year. We are also doing 2 ‘anti bullying’ workshops, looking at young peoples’ attitudes toward bullying. Exciting times!

He lead a quick quiz (with a prize) to spike interest and then gave an excellent short talk about himself, his job, and how he got to where he has got to, in his organisation. He also talked about the world economic context and all the problems we are currently facing. It was very informative. He followed the talk with another quick quiz (with another  prize!) about what he had been talking about. It was brilliant and as I said last week we do love hearing stories. These stories give young people a place to hang their aspirations – a face to aspire toward.

I found a quote that reminded me of why we believe aspirations are so important:

‘Motivation lasts for a day, inspiration lasts for a lifetime’ Nick Vujicic

We have also split our main Thursday session so on Monday’s from 18:30 – 20:30 we run a youth club session for school years 7,8,9 (ages 11 – 14) and then on a Thursday 19:00 – 21:00 for school year 10 up to the age of 19. We have split them for a range of reasons, one of the main ones being that young people have identified they wanted this themselves. We hope it will enable us to better cater for the different needs and interests of the different age groups and therefore attract more young people.

Voluntary participation, as I have also talked about, is important in this journey and if we offer an opportunity young people they do not have to participate they can voluntarily participate if they so choose. We also want to promote the ‘whole’ development of young people rather working ‘on’ specific aspects, like employment or physical health or education. So part of our role as youth workers is to understand the development and appreciate that development, so a game of football for example is not just about a game of football, but is about the physical health and physical development of young people as they exercise; it is also about working as a team and verbal communication and strategy, so their mental health and wellbeing is being thought about and considered in the football. It is about engagement with each other and peers, so knowing about supporting each other emotional health and development is reflected here, it is about having fun, there are also spiritual elements of understanding of your place in creation and community that young people experience in a team. It might look like football but as a youth worker is much much more, this is some of what it means to work ‘with’ young people rather than ‘on’.

100% of the young people accessing the Canaan Project sessions are there voluntary. They vote with their feet about our sessions!

The trouble is with this is that sometimes you want young people there, because you want them to do something, or take an opportunity that you might have for them, and they don’t turn up! This happened yesterday at Youth Club, 2 young people that were supposed to be helping me with recruiting young people for a session they were running decided not to turn up! We have subsequently had a great conversation about responsibility and as it turns out one young person had a legitimate reason but we had a conversation about communication! This does not take away from the fact that I, (James) was really frustrated on Thursday night!