M13 works together with young people to create opportunities for fun, learning, action and change.

People are often surprised, when we tell them we work with young people, that we don’t own and run a ‘youth centre’.

 

            “So how do you contact young people - where do you work with them?” is an often-asked question. 

 

The answer is: ‘In our communities, wherever young people hang out.’

 

Our primary place of work is out on the streets, wherever young people congregate - by shops, outside their houses, on benches, in parks, in McDonald's, or walking through the estate on their way somewhere. This approach to contacting and working in the community with young people is known as detached work and it is the daily mainstay of our work whatever the weather - and you’d be surprised how many young people we find out in the rain! This is how we meet and maintain contact with young people and how we develop relationships based on mutual respect, trust and listening.

 

Although our schedule can look very different from one week to the next, each week you will find us out on the streets, meeting and working with young people, offering one-to-one tailored support and working together on developmental activities and projects . Our work methods have a clear developmental process and are worked out together with young people.

 

Other work we are involved in includes work with Young Women, Residential trips away, Community Action Projects and Sports work. 

 

Conversation is a central part of our work with young people. In whatever setting we are in with young people, we seek to have thoughtful conversations which embody (both verbally and non-verbally) positive messages about young people's humanity, dignity, creativity and immense potential. Good conversations show us that someone else knows we exist and is interested in us - and all of us need to know this; they help us to make connections with others and with ideas; to find and understand our place in a community. Good conversations affirm us, challenge us and help us to learn and grow.

 

In all our work, we encourage young people to consider how they can contribute positively to their communities, with the result that often young people dream up their own plans to make a positive difference locally and beyond.

 

We work with young people to;

support them to work together

offer training and help securing resources

help them realise their plans for community action

recognise, publicise, accredit and celebrate their achievements.

 

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© M13 Youth Project