A second home

In the early days, only a handful of young people attended - and tentatively. Now many feel like it’s a second home.

It has been rewarding to see it return to even greater strength than Seniors was before it was closed, but we still have more to do to restore the culture of the past. Many of the newer members haven’t yet come to terms with the real function of the youth club and the role staff can play. Some of the behaviour has been challenging, and we’re still hoping to help the young people open up about issues they’re wrestling with in their lives. Viewing the team as authority figures like teachers or police officers isn’t too helpful. Relationships can take years to cultivate, but the team are making progress with many of the regular attendees.

The favourite activity by far is using the music studio, which continues to be a great pull for many members alongside table tennis and pool. The sports hall is being used increasingly alongside sparing use of a PS4 (alongside a staff member to engage them throughout).

Next year, we hope to focus more on developing team-building exercises with our members (a performance to showcase their musical talents is in planning, for example). The more we show the young people that they have a safe place at Knights – one where they know they’ll be listened to and understood - the more we’ll be able to make this a second home for all of them, as was once the culture in the Seniors sessions of many years ago.