Young people aged 16-25 who live in supported accommodation or receive tenancy support from Adactus in the Wigan Area have come together to form the first Young persons forum. They originally met back in July 2006 and at this meeting they discussed why they had decided to meet and what issues affect them and interest them as a group.
Since then, the group has chosen projects to work on including healthy eating and money advice and have recently secured £5,000 from Wigan Council's Youth Opportunity Fund to put their projects into place.
The funding received from the Youth Capital Fund and from Wigan Supporting People has been used to set up and install computers with internet access within the communal areas of the project based accommodation and to operate a lap top loan scheme to those in their own tenancies receiving tenancy support, with the provision of a trainer to provide the basic training on computer and internet use. This will enable service users to access services, jobs, training opportunities etc on line and complete essential work within their own homes. The funding also pays for a part-time staff member to manage the project, who has just started in post.
In September 2008 members of the YPRF received training from Jane Seddon, Group Personel Manager, on how to be a good interviewer and interviewee. Shortly after they put their new skills into practice and got involved in some interviews, including interviewing for the computer project worker post.
In October 2008 the YPRF also had a full day of paintballing, paid for through funding they applied for last year. It was cold and wet, but this wasn't enough to dampen spirits, and all involved had a great time. The day was also used to consult with our young residents about what training needs they have in relation to the computer project.
