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The Wirral and Ellesmere Port branches of Worth Unlimited are based in the offices of Tranmere Community Project (TCP) in Tranmere Methodist Church, Birkenhead. Our team currently consists of one full time Project Development worker and one part time Project Worker. Over the last two years the branch has delivered 7 personal development programmes to young people. A diverse range of groups has included a peer group from a housing estate in Birkenhead, young people on an “Entry to Employment” course, young people in a supported housing project and young people referred to us from Connexions. One of our main programmes I delivered on behalf of Merseyside Connexions. Six young people who are not in education, employment or training are spending time with us every Monday, looking at themselves, their skills, the future, employability and group work dynamics. This programme lasts for 10 sessions including a weekend residential where we will focus on employment. Coming up this year we will be focusing on a particular estate in Ellesmere Port where petty crime doubles during school holidays. We are running 3 programmes in conjunction with Ellesmere Port Youth Inclusion and Support Panel (YISP). YISP is a group of statutory agencies (e.g. Police, Fire, Education etc) who work with children aged 8 to 13. YISP will be working with the local schools to identify children who may benefit from personal development and group work and will then refer them to our programmes. We are running a programme for YISP over Easter and two in the summer holidays.
“Parkour” is the sport of “free running” and movement leaping over obstacles and between buildings sometimes seen on Extreme Sports channels and movies. Our team in the Wirral recently worked with 7 young men from the Tranmere area with less than two years of schooling between them on a Parkour Project The lads had been struggling to engage with any ambition for the future and even society itself. In fact most of the local community had given up on them altogether. Worth Unlimited staff introduced them to the structured discipline of Parkour. They were instructed by one of the very top experts in Europe (Daniel Ilabaca) who explained how Parkour effects all areas of life, not just the physical aspects. Over the duration of the course the young men were challenged to live and eat more healthily; learning to make smoothies and salads, and also rethinking their daily habits and lifestyle. By the end of the course these young men had made several positive lifestyle changes such as not binge drinking to enable their bodies to be fitter and throwing off negative relationships to enable their minds to be stronger. By the end of the course all of the attendees had either found training or full time employment and in some cases, their attendance had increased 300%. In the subsequent weeks, a selection of the young men were asked to star on the BBC Northwest programme, 'Inside Out'. This gave them the opportunity to express how much the course had changed and challenged their lives whilst acting as ambassadors for Parkour itself, helping to promote it further in this country. A few days later the same young men appeared in a full page feature in the Sunday Times national newspaper. This was centred around an article written by Frank Fields MP who attended a Parkour display by the young men. The article was debating the recent change in government opinion for those who are in the NEET category (such as these young men). The local MP had been incredibly impressed by the attitude and mental strength and new found ambition of these young men, who against many odds and statistics changed their future. Their impressive attitudes were the focal point of the article alongside their picture in action during a Parkour session. We feel extremely privileged to have been a part of this process and to have witnessed the incredible change in the lives of these young people. In just one week they were on 2 prestigious forms of media in our country, proudly and powerfully retelling their story. More than this they continue to strive to complete that process of change on a daily basis. Please do get in touch if you could help fund this life-changing opportunity for others
Read about Keith, John, James and Jack >
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Worth
Unlimited
Tricia
Millar
Sarah
Phillips
Stephanie
Boyle
Email:
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