We Know How To Have A Good Holiday!

Hello and welcome back! We've been away for a couple of weeks but we now have lots of exciting things to update you on.

Today Lizzie, our Education Development worker, told me about what she and the rest of the team have been up to with our younger service users...

"We feel recreational & positive activities are so important at A Way Out. Many people will have childhood memories that they will cherish: picnics, paddling in the sea, playing sports on the beach, going to see annual pantomime, going on a bike ride, the list goes on. Often young people we work with for various reason may not have that opportunity to create those memories."

That's where A Way Out comes in!

"Our holiday activities aim to:

Provide young people with positive experiences

Raise Aspirations

Give young people simple enjoyment, joy & fun

Improve community cohesions & integration

Give young people a sense of acceptance and belonging

Reduce isolation & loneliness

Prevent boredom during the holiday that may lead to risk taking behaviour

Build relationships that may lead to further support for the young person.

So these are some of the things we've been doing:

We’ve had over a 100 Easter eggs donated from A Way Out staff, family & friends, churches and local business. We’ve given out 106 so far and will continue to distribute them the rest of the week."

We started with an Easter bonnet competition in one of our school groups:

"Then we had an afternoon on Port Clarence distributing Easter Eggs and playing games on the field. We met lots of new young people and were able to invite them to our Saltburn beach trip happening later on in the week."

"Tuesday, outreach workers, Mark and Matty took some lads to Preston Park for a BBQ and a game of Crazy golf. Much to his delight, Mark won!"

"Wednesday, we had a very wet & muddy trip up to Roseberry Topping,  a very quick picnic at the top as a storm was on its way and then made our way back down. 12 out the 13 young people had never been up before so it was certainly a new experience for them and they felt quite proud when they made it to the top! Especially the young people that were scared of heights!"

"And today we are having a girls treat to bowling and pizza hut and tomorrow we are ending the holiday with a beach trip to Saltburn providing the weather is okay... There might have to be a contingency plan of the cinema if not!"

Love from A Way Out x

For Those Who Like Figures!

Yesterday I was reading our Annual Report 2011 from last October and I was overwhelmed again by some of the amazing work that is being carried out in Teesside by A Way Out. I have worked at this inspiring place for ten months now but I am regularly astounded by stories and projects that I hear about. For example the amazing Heart To Change project that invests so much time and support into young women who are really committed to turning their lives around.

These are some of the statistics which illustrate what was achieved last year. Although this information is a few months old, since October we have only gone on to expand our work to reach more people and make more significant changes in lives so we're confident that these figures will only be more encouraging this time next year.

We hope that this is inspiring to you too! For other news stories from A Way Out visit http://www.awayout.co.uk/whats-new/

Love from A Way Out x

"The True Price of Alcohol"

Who else watched Inside Out North East and Cumbria on Monday night? 

It was a fascinating and worrying insight into the binge drinking culture of the North-East and the impact that this has on our health, the health of those around us and the strain it puts on the NHS. These are some of the scary statistics to come out of the program:

If you get a chance to watch it, you can follow the link to iplayer here but it will only to available until 8pm on Monday 16th January.

The program started off by focussing on the NHS and the way that its service is compromised by the number of alcohol-related incidents it has to deal with every year. It also discussed the issue of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), a little know but serious condition which can cause a child to be born with life-long brain damage if the mother has been drinking whilst pregnant. Finally, Mike Parr from BBC Radio Tees undertook a one month fast from his usual 37 units of alcohol a week and went teetotal for the whole of December. When he began drinking again he found that his craving from alcohol had reduced and he was able to reduce his general intake per week.

There is so much more that I could say but the best thing is probably for you to watch this yourselves. It's only 30 minutes long and well worth it if you are concerned about the local culture of binge drinking, if you know someone who struggles to drink safely or if you yourself find this a difficulty.

This all seems like a lot of bad news but there is a way forward! A Way Out has been aware of this issue for a long time. We work with clients on a daily basis who struggle with binge drinking and we see complete transformation in their lives. At the end of November we employed a new member of staff whose role is to reach and support young women who are struggling to control their drinking habits. Partnering with local specialist organisations we provide the support needed to help these young women to reach their goals of safe, healthy and whole lives for themselves and their families.

If you would like to do something to help then there are so many ways in which you can support A Way Out so we can continue to transform Teesside. To find out more, visit our website.

Love from A Way Out x

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

I read on Twitter this morning:

"Do not be afraid" appears in the bible 366 times - once for every day of the year (including leap years!)*

At A Way Out we don't believe that anyone should need to fear for their lives, for their health, for their children, for their safety, for their future...

Especially as we are looking forward to Christmas these fears seem to come to the fore. Christmas is traditionally a time of hope, joy, peace and love but all too often this is not the case. We will be keeping our offices open across the festive period to make sure that there is always a place to go.

We are running a whole range of activities in the next couple weeks to make sure that this is a really special time for people, a time to celebrate and have fun. For a low-down on what our girls group is going to be doing you can have a read of our latest newsletter here.

Our preventions team are also busy planning the week before Christmas which will be crammed full of activities. It's shaping up to be a great week:

Monday- bag packing at Morrissons supermarket to raise awareness and funds for A Way Out.

Tuesday- a trip to see the musical Oliver! at the Arc, Stockton.

Wednesday- Giant Christmas movie afternoon

Thursday- Christmas party which includes food, grafitti workshops, arts and crafts, games, prizes and maybe even a visit from Santa!

We know that spending quality time with vulnerable and at risk women and young people is so important and A Way Out can make all the difference in a young person's life. These are some of the things our project workers have been told this week:

Hello, just sat here chilling a just want to say thank you 4 everything, just wanted to mgs u and let u no i look forward when we meet, thanks 4 everything  x x

I don't know where I would be in life now if it wasn't for you and all your hard work at away out! I really appreciate everything u have done for me and thanks for having confidence in me and in what I do and thanks so much for sending me the right way in life! You do so much for people most the time you don't relies you do it even the little things mean a lot to me so thank you so much just to say thanks xxxxxxxxx 

Thank you for working at away out and been there for me and my friends it means a lot to know we have people we can always talk too :) 

Wow. We're really excited about Christmas at the Gate. We'll be getting back to you to let you know how it's gone and to show you all the photos!

Love from A Way Out x

*tweet by @nickygumbel

Something a little different...

Hi, my name is Niomi and I have been volunteering at A WAY OUT since October and  I honestly cannot describe how amazing it is. The staff are amazing, the clients are amazing and the work we all do together is amazing! Anyway, Whilst Jenny is off on her jollies, she has left me in charge of updating the blog and keeping all you readers up to date with the day to day happenings of A WAY OUT. So, let’s see how this goes…

Last week A WAY OUT was action packed as per, if not more so with preparations under way for the Total Warrior challenge! We were even lucky enough to be given the opportunity to take the girls from the community drop-in bowling thanks to 'Cash for Kids'. The community drop-in is a group which takes place every Wednesday for girls ages 16-21 as part of the recovery work we do here at AWO. This drop-in is a chance for our service users to integrate themselves back into the community within a safe and secure environment, where they are made to feel welcome and at home. 

Bowling is a brilliant activity to get the girls involved with. They have always thoroughly enjoyed it in the past and being away from the centre gives the girls a change of scenery, as well as the chance to have a go at something they may not have tried before.

The girls split up into 3 teams and wanted to add a bit of competition to the mix and see who could score the highest. Spirits were high throughout the day and there was plenty of laughter, smiles and team work! The joy element is an essential part to our work as much as the structured group sessions we put on. It helps those who are sometimes less fortunate or have never had the chance to JUST HAVE FUN! There is no better feeling than seeing our clients laughing, smiling and just enjoying themselves!

Love from A Way Out x

Our first guest blogger: Lizzie!

My name’s Lizzie and I’m the education worker at A Way Out. My official title is ‘Vulnerable Young Persons Education Development Worker’ (very long, I know)!

I’ve worked for A Way Out for 3 years now and my main role is to co-ordinate accredited and informal learning amongst our service users. I believe that everyone has the right to an education and can be educated regardless of their background, ability, situation or age. Often our service users may have had bad experiences in the past but A Way Out eases them gently back into education and in many cases a learner may achieve their first ever certificate. This can often be the start of a learning journey they would otherwise not have embarked upon!

Education at A Way Out can mean working with young people who have been permanently excluded from school, going into a secondary schools to deliver self esteem workshops and healthy lifestyle sessions, running employment courses with our adult service users or running a creative arts project with local professional artists. With me being the only girl on this team I often will do some youth outreach type work too, whether its running a girls group or helping out at a youth club roadshow!

Some proud girls with their certificates

When we run ‘education’ projects, the education side is only a small part of it. There may be other issues that need to be dealt with and I often refer people on to colleagues or outside agencies. There may be worrying stuff that is happening at home that we need to tackle or maybe on that particular day they just need a listening ear. Although we are looking to improve their education, it’s really about improving their life as a whole. So sometimes I’m a youth worker, sometimes a befriender, often it feels like I am a counsellor and sometimes I'm a teacher. You never know what each day will bring!

Improving fitness

Raising self-esteem and aspirations through recreational activities

With it being the holidays at the moment, not a lot of education happens as the schools are shut, so I've been getting up to some different things...

• We are going to start providing accreditation for our volunteer program in September! This means our volunteers will not only receive excellent, relevant training but also a Level 1 accreditation too! So in the next couple of weeks I'm going to be busy writing unit plans and workbooks. Watch this space volunteers!

• Matty (our outreach worker) and I are busy recruiting young people for our Summer Trips to Lightwater Valley, Redcar beach, Beamish Museum, a picnic in the park and some other places too! These give young people the opportunity to do something fun in the holidays and also provide time for us to build relationships with them. It gives them an experience they may not otherwise have and more importantly it takes them off dangerous estates and can give them a break from distressing home lives.

• Whilst I'm not out on trips and writing units I will have time to prepare for the next school term. We’re working in three schools in September delivering workshops on drugs and alcohol awareness, self esteem and healthy lifestyles. I’ll be coming up with schemes of work, lesson plans and material for those. One of the schools is new to A Way Out so we hope to make a good impression!

Learning about drug categories

I'm looking forward to September as lots of things happening. Hopefully we'll increase our work with young people who are at risk of been excluded and we are going to be developing our one to one sessions. I'm wanting to create a weekly education afternoon where A Way Out service users can access education in basic skills, for example in maths, independent living etc.. And chatting to a young person yesterday about healthy eating has give me the idea to run healthy cooking classes! So all very exciting stuff!

Love from A Way Out x

Reporters and Road Shows

This morning I arrived at work to find a BBC Tees van outside the building and a reporter inside interviewing Jessie our CEO. Slightly curious I found out what was going on...

You may have seen on the news and in the papers today, the reports that more and more teenagers are choosing to go teetotal. The NHS Information Centre will be publishing the results of an annual survey in a couple of weeks, revealing that figures for teetotal teenagers have risen to 49%. This morning the BBC was at A Way Out to find out Jessie’s response to this news and you will be able to hear sound bites from that interview today on BBC Tees Radio.

Daniel Radcliffe, Fearne Cotton and Jessie J, role models for
young people, have all made the move to teetotal.

We’re so excited about these figures that show more and more young people are choosing healthier lifestyles and getting fulfilment from taking part in drama, sport or other activities rather than binge drinking. Education also plays a really key part in informing teenagers of the dangers of alcohol so they can make healthy lifestyle decisions now that will impact their futures.

A Way Out plays its own significant part in providing alternative activities and education for young people. We have several outreach projects which include detached outreach, holiday activities and road shows to promote healthy lifestyles through interactive activities. For example, young people may invent their own smoothies and try non-alcoholic cocktails as an introduction to talking about the dangers of alcohol abuse.

Our outreach team have found that young people engage really easily with topics such as alcohol awareness through these road shows and they always come with lots of questions. What we have heard in the news today reflects what we see in the schools and estates in Stockton. We are encouraged to keep going as what we do has a very real impact on teenagers' lives both now and in the future.

Love from A Way Out x

p.s. this blog was written together with Niomi, one of our volunteers, who will be taking over blogging for a couple of weeks in August while I'm on holiday!