Nearly 200 young people in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent have had life-changing support in the first year of a pioneering programme.
The Prince’s Trust is running a unique project in partnership with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire, Matthew Ellis, and Stoke-on-Trent City Council which helps vulnerable youngsters develop confidence and key skills.
In its first year alone in 2015/16 the programme gave extensive support to 196 young people across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent which led to 144 (72%) of them moving into employment, training, volunteering or education within three months of completing a programme. All of the young people are supported by The Prince’s Trust to help them with their next steps.
The Police and Crime Commissioner has provided funding for the programme which has helped young people aged 14 to 25, many with challenging backgrounds.
The project’s success was highlighted as part of early intervention work at the latest meeting of the Police and Crime Panel in Stafford last week.
Mr Ellis, who recently met some of the young people involved at The Prince’s Trust Centre in Stoke-on-Trent, said: “It’s fantastic that so many youngsters have already benefited from this crucial work. As well as helping some of our most vulnerable young people, our partnership with The Prince’s Trust has a positive effect on the wider society. Investing in young people and giving them the skills they need to find work helps to reduce youth crime and anti-social behaviour and strengthens community links, including breaking down barriers between disadvantaged young people and the police.
“Early intervention is one of my key priorities as evidence shows that the best way of preventing crime and having a positive impact on community wellbeing, quality of life and safety is to stop problems from arising in the first place.”
The project offers support for young people via two core Prince’s Trust programmes, Fairbridge and Get Started. The Fairbridge programme provides group activities and opportunities to get one-to-one support to help young people build confidence and develop key skills. A residential trip takes place at the beginning of each course before individuals sign up to workshops in areas such as photography, finance, technology and cooking.
Get Started courses are designed to inspire young people and encourage them to move forward in their lives. Each individual is given additional support once the programme finishes to help them move into sustainable employment. Courses include Get Started with Football, ran in partnership with Stoke City FC.
John O’Reilly, Director, for The Prince’s Trust in Central England, said: “Our partnership with Staffordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner has helped us to reach out to even more local, unemployed young people who need our support. By developing confidence and key skills, we can help these young people get into work, contribute to society and build a positive future for themselves.”
To read more about the Police and Crime Commissioner’s key priorities in his Safer, Fairer, United Communities strategy click here.
A recent report published by The Prince’s Trust revealed the charity had contributed £134 million in value to society in the last ten years. The calculation, by NEF Consulting, takes into account the return on investment of getting young people off benefits, reducing offending and re-offending, helping young people to achieve at school, and the associated savings to the public purse. The report also revealed a clear evidence of social immobility linked to a lack of “inherited opportunities”, and that more than half of young people in the West Midlands (54%) had no support from anyone when looking for a job.
