A YOUTH GROUP launched as a lifeline in Saddleworth by volunteers has been hailed by young people who rely on the services.
Youth worker Helen Bishop set up ‘Youth Local’ (YoLo) after services at the Satellite Centre in Greenfield ended in April as part of Oldham Council budget cuts.
A busy ‘Meet and Greet’ evening introduced the new group to the community at the start of the month at their temporary home at Greenfield Conservative Club.
And now, with sessions underway every Wednesday, Helen took along some of the young members to a Greenfield and Grasscroft Residents Association Meeting to share their experiences.
Joe, who is helping the group as a young leader, said: “The youth services are so important to us.
“Without the youth centre I wouldn’t have had the opportunities it has given me to get into my area of work as a technician in the events industry.
“Young people can speak to the staff or young leaders here whereas they might not speak to parents or teachers. It is a really good setting to get something off your chest if you need to.”
Freya added: “We feel comfortable here. But we really want the youth centre to reopen and for us to be able to go back there.”
And Neive said: “We feel safe and are not hanging around on the streets. We can do fun things too, like help with the café and activities.”
Helen, a youth and community worker with 17 years’ experience in this area, is working with a team of fully qualified youth workers to deliver the new sessions.
They have registered the group as a community interest company, written a constitution and started recruiting members.
Helen said: “I know the council is struggling with cuts but it is difficult to believe they can cut down on vital services like this for children.
“We’ve had to start from scratch and we’re very fortunate to have had people put in an incredible amount of hard work to help us get set up.
“We hope eventually that we’ll have access to the Satellite Centre again. It was built for use by young people.
“There needs to be in my opinion youth provision in every village in Saddleworth so children have local services and aren’t travelling all over the place.
“Mahdlo is a wonderful facility but it cannot replace local services and we can’t expect children to get a bus in and out of town at night.”
For more information about Youth Local, please call Helen on: 07899 997524 or go along to a session: Wednesday for juniors from 5.30pm-7.30pm followed by seniors until 9.30pm.
Sessions are open to all, with a small membership fee, and activities will include discos, arts and crafts, cooking, cake decorating, music and more.
YoLo are also looking for help and financial backing from local businesses and groups. Please get in touch with Helen.
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