Ex -Eastenders actress Brooke Kinsella has visited Cardiff to meet the people behind the Goodies in Hoodies community project.
The trip was organised after the Fairwater-based initiative was presented as an example of best practice to the Home Office earlier this year.
Goodies in Hoodies was established when it was recognised that a solution was needed to tackle increasing anti-social behaviour in the area. The project sets local young volunteers the challenge of improving the lives of youngsters and changing people’s perceptions of young people as well as reducing the barriers between older and younger people in the community.
Brooke has been asked by the Home Office to look into anti-social behaviour and the effects of knife crime after her brother Ben was fatally stabbed in 2008. She was invited along with Home Office representatives to an open day at Fairwater Leisure Centre to see how the project works, and meet some of the community partners and the young people involved including Goodies in Hoodies founder 18 year old Maisey Andrews.
The project’s vision is to improve the health of young people, improve access to training and courses in order to increase employment prospects and use volunteering to enhance social skills, community engagement and citizenship. As part of this the young people can enrol on the voluntary Street Games scheme which involves training community volunteers to deliver free activities to 10 to15-years-old such as ball games, tag rugby, cheerleading and football.
Each volunteer is rewarded with a training credit for every hour worked on the scheme. Additional credits can be earned by volunteering for other community work placements such as litter picking, cleaning graffiti and stewarding at local events.
Credits can then be exchanged for training and courses such as the national pool lifeguard qualification, fork lift truck driving, hospitality and catering, gym instructors and other training opportunities such as CV and interview skills and driving lessons.
The scheme has had a positive impact on the lives of several young people and as a result, some have moved into regular employment.
Executive Member for Communities, Housing and Social Justice, Cllr Judith Woodman, said: “The Goodies in Hoodies project continues to go from strength to strength. It engages young people in the community, assisting them socially so they may find employment and has effectively lowered instances of anti-social behaviour.
“The work of the young people involved in the initiative is inspiring and I am delighted that it has been recognised by the Home Office as an example of best practice.”
The Goodies in Hoodies project is a Cardiff Council Leisure Services initiative.
Since it was established in February 2009, the project has worked together with several partnership groups including Communities First, Cardiff Youth Services community action groups and neighbour management groups such as the police.
Following her visit, Brooke highlighted the Goodies in Hoodies project during an interview on BBC One’s Politics Show as an example of best practice.
Photograph: left to right; Brooke Kinsella with Maisey Andrews
