Compassion will unite us all
On 7th May 2020 the city of Richmond, Virginia, USA joined the International Charter for Compassion, a global movement guided by the Golden Rule of treating others as you wish others to treat you. Richmond wants compassion to be at the core of its community. What if every organisation put compassion at the core of their business culture?
Introducing David Johnson, Youth Development Worker
David was born and brought up in Lewisham, London. Although both his parents were born in Jamaica, he has managed to trace within his family a Cuban and Chinese ancestry line. His parents had a strong work ethic and expected all their children to excel at school. David admits he wasn’t that academic as he was more interested in working with his hands.
SW!TCH’s summer programme of activities for young people
How do you keep your kids busy throughout the summer? If you need help thinking of some fun things to do this summer that won’t break the bank, our SW!TCH team have got an awesome list of activities for 11-16
Have we forgotten how to play?
Just recently, I was speaking with a close friend of mine on what it was like to finally be able to interact with each other face-to-face again. The conversation turned to how our children were coping, and he began to tell me of a recent event – his son had his friends come over to the house to play together, and yet… they didn’t.
SW!TCH Minds: Looking back at our first year
To mark the first year of SW!TCH Minds, Rachel Dunford Consulting were commissioned as an external evaluator to review the impact the programme has had. We’d like to share some of our findings about the amazing work being done by LifeLine Project’s Youth Development Workers during a very challenging year.
Building better physical health for young people in Barking and Dagenham
There have been growing concerns in recent years over a rise in a sedentary lifestyles among young people—much has been said of the rise of technology such as social media playing a role. And we can see this starkly at a local level: even before the pandemic, research has shown that Barking and Dagenham has had one of the lowest levels of participation in physical activity across all of London.
Providing the best care, even under pressure
I have always believed that the best place for most young people to learn is in mainstream school. Where that is not possible, young people need high quality alternative provision that urges them forward. I am pleased that Ofsted have recognised that SW!TCH Expeditions achieves this and given us a ‘Good’ grading.
Empowered to make better choices
Charlie was referred to the Engage Project when he was in year 10. He had been excluded from school due to issues of bullying, truancy and violence. When Charlie started with us, he was defiant and argumentative. He disobeyed instruction
Joined-up services create community
The word ‘ubuntu’ expresses the African philosophy of wholeness – it presupposes that one’s humanity is bound up with nature and with other people in the community. A popular idiom in many African communities is ‘one is an animal but two is a community’: humanity comes through being part of the community; all human beings are members of an extended family.
Supporting young people with complex needs
We spoke with Kiera, one of our SW!TCH Youth Development Workers, about the ongoing support she’s been delivering to Rose, a young person dealing with multiple and complex needs who had been admitted to a local mental health unit.
COVID-19 and the vaccine: Community Champions
Building on their previous work supporting faith and community groups during the COVID-19 pandemic, LifeLine’s FaithAction team are now working in partnership with Strengthening Faith Institutions as part of the Government’s Community Champions scheme.
Blessed are the peacemakers – How should a youth work organisation respond when there is a serious incident?
On a quiet street in Barking, shortly before 3:45PM on Friday 12th March 2021, a 16-year-old male student was stabbed and seriously injured. As a result of the incident, he sustained life-changing injuries.
