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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Creative help needed to tackle youth homelessness

By Stephanie Akousa - Crossposted from 'Seven Sisters Community':

Hi, my name is Stephanie and I'm a Team v leader which is created by vInspired.

Team v is a network of 100 young people who are interested in creating positive social change within our communities. Last years campaigns, 8 weeks each involved Team v Leaders, tackling child poverty, tackling elderly loneliness and tackling child illiteracy. Before Team v, I never knew 75,000 young people are made homeless each year and 1 in 2 young people are made homeless! We want to eliminate other young people becoming homeless.

This year, myself and a group of 3-6 passionate volunteers are aiming to tackle youth homelessness within Tottenham, by raising awareness by creating a stunt and challenging the perceptions of people in Tottenham by creating an exhibition showcasing the hopes and dreams of young people made homeless.

We will do this by getting a local organisation to support us. However, we need general volunteers and 3 core volunteers to be a social media rep, Director of PR and marketing and Director of photography and film. We need an infinite amount of general volunteers to help out with our campaign in Youth homelessness with the stunt or exhibition! :)

The video campaign is below.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope to hear from you soon.

All the best :)

Tags for Forum Posts: homelessness

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by John D on October 28, 2012 at 13:57

What are you going to market ?

Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on October 28, 2012 at 16:18

So, Stephanie, all my nagging questions above remain ignored.  I guess I'll just dump them in what you might call the "elderly loneliness" bin and get on with performing my own cunning stunts.

2zngxy5mmqt6aPermalink Reply by 2zngxy5mmqt6a on October 28, 2012 at 12:21

Replying to old age Emporium(OAE) comment: 

'Before Team v, I never knew 75,000 young people are made homeless each year and 1 in 2 young people are made homeless! 

Me neither. Where?  When?  How?  For how long?  50% of young people homeless in this country? city? borough?  Homeless by what definition?  A night on your mate's sofa because a parent doesn't understand you?  

I think we should be told, Neville.  And how will a stunt help them?  But I suppose there may be worse uses for social meeja technology' 

 

A stunt will help get the community of all ages involved, by creating a stunt for e.g - a sofa in a park, giving out anecdotes of those made homeless and giving out leaflets of the services available to young people who may become homeless and the causes/solutions. It will help prevent other young people becoming homeless and make people more knowledgeable about  homeless and how it occurs. 

According to research found by vInspired: 75,000 young people in Britain were made homeless last year (2011). The main factor contributing to young people becoming homeless are relationship breakdowns in the family. The type of homelessness we are trying to tackle is young people sleeping on a friend sofa (hidden homelessness), young people sleeping in a council hostel or young people sleeping rough on the streets. We want to challenge the perceptions and raise awareness of all sorts of youth homelessness. 

Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on October 28, 2012 at 12:45

This website is renowned for its fair, balanced and open-minded discussion of serious issues. So obviously there's no way anyone posting here would in any way dismiss young people's commitment, passion, anger, and wish to do something about issues such as homelessness.

Is there?

After all, none of us could possibly take the view that for example, only  famous photographers and filmmakers  have something useful and interesting to say about this issue. And then only on the BBC or in an exhibition at Tate Britain.

Could we?

Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on October 28, 2012 at 16:31

Certainly not, Alan. Still, as I know you yourself would say, we should ask the obvious questions if only to firm up the meanings attached to "homelessness", without demeaning youth's passion and anger. When they become Prince of Wales we don't want them rubbing their hands fatuously and declaring, "Something must be done."

Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on October 28, 2012 at 17:51

Yes, and you know I'd be with you in asking the hard questions about some new initiative. But let me take a different tack.

Years ago I was incredibly lucky in a couple of jobs/pieces of work I did. My good fortune was to join teams and/or have supervisors who were very experienced and generous with their time and sharing their knowledge. In effect they taught younger and beginning staff.

It seems to me that with "interns", short-term contracts and constant reorganisations, younger staff now easily miss out on those learning opportunities. Also young people are frequently told they "don't have enough experience".

At the same time there is now a generation of experienced people who are taking their knowledge into cuts-inflicted redundancy or early retirement.

So I'd very much like to see schemes developed where youthful enthusiasts are linked up with older more experienced people. By chance, one of our new in-laws - a highly creative young man who makes videos - told us how his company had paired him on a film project with a former BBC producer.

Permalink Reply by Neville Collins on October 28, 2012 at 16:33

Sorry about the confusion in the information, that was my fault. I just copied and pasted from 7SC to post on HoL. I hope Stephanie's later explanation will have cleared things up.

Permalink Reply by Seema Chandwani on October 29, 2012 at 0:58

Seven Sisters has a community website?

 

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