How 11 pioneering Newport youngsters are helping to improve their local environment.
Gwent Police community support officer Janet Woodward started the Shaftesbury Youf Gang in 2015 and 11 enthusiastic local children aged nine to 14 now take part.
The Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation shows that there are pockets of significant deprivation within Shaftesbury, including income, community safety, physical environment and housing.
However, this has not stopped this group of young people from dispelling youth stereotypes while driving improvement in the community in which they live.
A constituted club with its own chairman, secretary and treasurer, the Youf Gang’s ethos is embedded in its motto – ‘Making Shaftesbury a nicer place’.
Youf Gang member Charlie Young explains: ‘We have an interest in the local neighbourhood and have a motto of ‘making Shaftesbury a nicer place to live.‘We hold monthly meetings and have already carried out several litter picks in the area.’
Newport City Homes (NCH) has supported the group by supplying new equipment including litterpickers, gloves, high-visibility jackets, and lockers based in the community centre. It has also engaged with the group members to find out their views and help shape service delivery.
NCH community relationship manager Jon Conway said: ‘We have been working with Gwent Police supporting Youf Gang for the last two years. It is an excellent example of a housing association working with the police, residents and wider strategic partners to improve the environment, tackle anti-social behaviour and work with a demographic that is generally hard to reach.
‘Working with our partners across the city means we can build momentum and make a bigger impact in Newport. We are committed to engaging with our communities to help us achieve our core purpose of creating communities in which people want to live. And to do this, we need to put residents at the heart of what we do. Engagement such as this is a key factor in generating this local knowledge, so we can provide bespoke, focused work in our communities.
‘This is not only reflected in our work with progressive youth groups such as Youf Gang and UNITY, but our wider commitment to know our residents. We then use what they tell us to shape services, homes and communities. It’s about delivering not only want our communities want, but what they need.’
In addition to monthly litter picks and community events, Youf Gang has also:
- Helped raise more than £2,000 for charity
- Supported the city’s Grow Wild funding bid
- Worked with the residents at Shaftesbury Court sheltered housing scheme to improve their facilities
- Helped collect 30 large black bags and five large boxes of clothing for a local homeless charity, Eden Gate
- Received £595 from the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent’s Partnership Fund to increase sport-based youth engagement
- Started a football team, with its own club badge and sponsored kit
- Attended summer and Christmas fetes to promote sustainability and recruit additional members
- Visited the Malpas Fire Station to learn more about fire safety
- Been ball boys at Newport County FC
- Enjoyed visits to Gwent Dragons, HMS Severn, Welsh FA, Cardiff City FC, Parliament, Welsh Assembly, and Raglan Barracks.
However, its biggest achievement is tackling stereotypes about young people in one of the more deprived wards in the city.
Gwent Police community support officer Richy Davies leads the project and is full of praise for the participants: ‘The Youf Gang members are a massive credit, not only to themselves but to the local community.
‘The Youf Gang is an incredible group of young people who are role models to other teenagers. They are showing what can be done when you work together to have fun and look after your community.
‘It has been a pleasure to work with and guide the youngsters into hopefully prosperous futures.”
The Youf Gang’s work is also supported by the city council. Cabinet member for community services, works and skills, councillor Roger Jeavons says it would be great if others could follow their lead in wards across the city: ‘It is very heartening to hear about these community-minded youngsters who are willing to pull together to help improve their local environment. They are a great example of the good young people are doing across the city. Well done!’
Richy Davies added: ‘We have had an excellent working relationship with Newport City Homes on this project. We are helping to break down barriers, increase civic pride and promote community engagement. At the same time, all of this community-focused work is helping to make Shaftesbury a nicer place.’