Finding Inspiration

It’s been just over two months since I arrived. It feels like I’ve been here for much longer! I took over from Aysha as the Youth Development Officer in mid-April, moving to London for the job from my slightly sleepy home-town, Bedford. I have lived in this area of Camden before so it’s not completely new, and in some ways it feels like I never really left. Coming to the Winch has been like coming home.

Home – this word continually echoes in our building. The children and young people who we have the privilege of caring for and working with often refer to the Winch as a ‘home-from-home’. It is a reflection of our core values and identity. We strive to be a place of belonging, for people from many walks of life. Not only to 4-25 year olds, but for their families, the staff and volunteers, and other building users. We offer a large building with an even larger heart.

Since starting here I have been speaking to young people, getting to know them and what they think the local needs are, meeting other professionals, doing detached work in the schools and community, and running open access sessions in our newly decorated basement. We have a music studio being fitted this week, and big dreams for establishing that as a place for expression and creativity, nurturing the talent we’ve already seen in the young people. We have some day trips planned for the summer holidays, and ideas about putting together a mural on the youth centre wall.

But throughout this hive of activity, I continually spend time reflecting about what the youthwork should look like, our vision for young people in Camden, and what makes us different from other youth clubs. What are we trying to achieve? How can we provide a meaningful service to young people in Swiss Cottage? What does it take to get past hopelessness and disillusion that many are feeling in this challenging economic climate? Where will we be in six months time if our funding is cut?

I have at times felt like the task is too big – I want to see young people free to live fully being everything they can be. But I get saddened by the difficulties I see young people trying to work through. I get angry by the injustice that exists in our culture, where some children have more access than others to positive educational, social, cultural and economical opportunities. It’s not fair that young people are today growing up with huge problems relating to friendships and postcodes, resulting in untimely deaths from pointless violent incidents.

“We must learn to live as if the impossible is possible. Though there are no guarantees that everything will change if we do, is it absolutely certain that nothing will change if we don’t.” (Dave Andrews 1999)

I find inspiration and encouragement in surprising places. The other day I was on the tube doing the daily morning commute. I’ve taken to not wearing music-filled earphones any more in an attempt to be more present and connected with my fellow travellers. Occasionally I hear brilliant sound-bites. One such conversation I overheard was between a little boy and his grandma: “Grandma, I’m not scared of walking down the stairs. No I’m not scared anymore. Because I am brave.”

This simple statement made me smile, and summarised so well the beauty found in freedom from fear. My colleague reminded me of a quote – one of my favourites – often accredited to Nelson Mandela but originally written by Marianne Williamson:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us… We are all meant to shine, as children do. As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

This encapsulates everything I long the Winch to be to our community. A place where children, young people and adults are encouraged to shine, free from fear – to love themselves and others, to share and nurture their talents and abilities, to challenge and grow as individuals and friends. The way to tackle disillusionment, despair, and disconnectedness begins with empathy, hope and empowerment. The Winch is not about programmes and projects – we are about people and relationships. Youthworkers are not here to entertain and police young people for a couple of hours an evening – we’re here to journey with young people through joy and sorrow for the long-term.

So, lots to do… better get going! Drop by and say hello if you’re near.

Peace,

Clare

A Human Right to Play? Meet Lubna.

My name is Lubna and I am the Research & Development Officer for the Winch, I’m currently investigating the social impact that the cuts on Play will have for children and young people and future generations. The Winch is a place where children and young people can have fun and be themselves. It has a family feel, it provides kids with a second family – education, learning about respect, working in a team.

I am currently studying an MA in human rights at university and have developed a deep understanding of human rights whether it is related to adults, young people or children. Human Rights in my opinion are about every human being having the fundamental rights of life regardless of their economic well being, culture, race, nationality or ethnicity. Every human being is equal and therefore children who are being brought up deserve the best start in life.

I come from a close knit community in my home and with my relatives. Coming to the Winch has been an eye opener about how important that sort of support and understanding can be. I have realised since being here that places like the Winch are such an important part of the community and if they didn’t exist there would be real problems felt by everyone, the very next day.

Why don’t people think about places like the Winch, after school clubs, youth clubs, as essential? Whilst I’m at the Winch I would like to publish my reports in order to make everyone aware of the positive effects the Winch has on young people and children.

My passion for human rights stems from years studying my undergraduate degree in Criminology and Forensic Science. My dream outcome will be to see a human rights centre established based on child rights including play provision, advocating, campaigning for rights of the child as well as providing educational lectures on a monthly basis on international affairs. That would be the perfect goal.

From the mouths of babes.

“Well, I don’t think you understand how much the Winch matters to us kids. I am 12 years old and I have been coming to the Winch since I was six. If the Winch goes we won’t have a lot to do and young youths like us will just hang around on the streets. Me and my brother love the Winch, they are like family. My Mum does not know what she would do without the Winch. BE CAREFUL!”
This was written by 12 year old Asha Solanki, in a bid to get Camden council to rethink the planned cuts to play provision across the borough. She was not asked to write it; it is simply a reflection of how she, and many other of the children and young people who benefit from attending the Winch, feel about it.

Children and young people come to the Winch for a number of different reasons:

· To take part in a range of activities and experiences which will all contribute to their development
· To bring them into contact with a diverse and colourful community
· To allow low-income parents or those in difficult circumstances to work and provide for themselves
· And to be part of a wider family structure that nurtures, advises and supports.

Camden council is currently proposing to cut 65%-80% of its play provision. If these cuts are made, the Winch and other play providers in the borough face closure as it would be impossible to find alternative income streams quickly enough. The result of this would be catastrophic both to the children we care for and the social fabric of our communities in the future.

All children have the right to a childhood – to play and learn and interact socially with their peers. At the Winch we strive to inspire and educate our participants, to realise their dreams and reach their potential. If there is no more play provision at the Winch, these children and young people will lose their chance to live out their childhood in a safe and stimulating environment. They will be left with nowhere to go, except, as Asha says, ‘hanging around on the streets’. Surely, Camden wants to get young people off the streets and into environments like the Winch? Is it really going to turn its back on its younger residents now or should it aspire to a better future for its children, young people and families?

Kim Mabbutt

Read the full Camden New Journal article here: http://bit.ly/f1Rg80

Introducing Peter, the Winch's first Writer-In-Residence

Hi, my name is Peter Target, and I’m writing this month’s blog. We want to talk directly as people who work at the Winch, so you can get an idea of what we do individually, rather than as ‘a whole’. Instead, we think of ourselves as a sort of landmark, a recognisable place where people from the community meet, work and play.

I started working here a couple of weeks ago. We thought it might be interesting to read about our personal impressions of the place, and here are mine. The first thing I noticed about the Winch is that the word ‘community’ really is important here. Everyone is constantly trying to reach out further into Swiss Cottage and Belsize, Kilburn and Finchley Road, and trying to widen the spread of people who benefit from what we offer. You’ll hear a lot more about our community on this blog.

But running the place is a sort of little community as well, in that everyone’s voice is treated as important. Obviously someone has to sit at the top, but they’re not pulling all the strings. On my first day we had a planning meeting, and my own vision for the Winch was given as much importance as Paul’s (Paul Perkins, the Winch’s director). I was asked to think about where I wanted to be in three years’ time, where I wanted the Winch to be, and how my relationship to the Winch and other people working here could make all these aspirations happen. This is the atmosphere of a community. You give something, and you get something back.

My role is as a writer-in-residence. I’ll be working with the staff, children and young people to develop their skills and interest in literature, with a view to publishing a book at the end of my six-month stay. In these first few weeks I’m getting to know the children and young people, developing a plan for the book, and starting work with the young people developing their ideas and writing.

I’m also involved in the consultation and planning process that we have going on at the moment. It’s such an exciting time to be involved in an organisation which is open to every possible avenue forward, through a time of upheaval in the voluntary sector. Everyone working here believes that supporting the Winch should be an opportunity rather than a sacrifice, encouraging growth on both sides. Sometimes this feels really complicated, and at other times seems like the easiest thing in the world.

But what I keep being reminded of is the fact that when you take part in a project such as the Winch, you are enriched by the relationships you make with people that you live among all the time, but might never have a reason to talk to. For me, this is the best thing that the Winch can provide, and what I will be concentrating on developing during my time here.

I’ll be writing again in a few months with where I’ve got to. Right now, I’m setting out what I want to achieve by then in stone, here (or rather on the internet, which is even more permanent!).

1. Have a comprehensive plan for the book
2. Run several sessions with young people to develop their writing
3. Publish a small book about Projects We Love – those social enterprises which have changed the way we think about charities and giving
4. Visit at least 10 social enterprise projects for ideas to channel into the Winch
5. And finally, write some poems myself!

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Peter