Almost a year after detached youth workers left Thatcham’s streets they are back in a brand new scheme commissioned by Thatcham Town Council.
The tri-part project sees Thatcham Town Council, Berkshire Youth and Inspired Young People’s Project join forces to bring specialist youth workers back to the streets of Thatcham to provide street based support for young people.
Detached youth work is based around developing purposeful relationships with young people in public spaces such as parks, shelters or on the streets. They engage young people and work with them to enhance their life chances and to help them contribute to their community, they provide appropriate information and advice to vulnerable young people.
Thatcham Town Council has funded the provision of detached youth work in Thatcham for many years, funding the Thatcham Detached Youth Project which ran for over 30 years until closing in 2017 when the project ran into difficulty with maintaining the long-term employment of its staff, a service previously provided by West Berkshire Council. It was following this that Thatcham Town Council entered into negotiations with Berkshire Youth to see how they could help provide the service going forward.
Having launched in the new year, Inspired Young People’s Project can be found around the town on Friday and Saturday evenings.
With a desire to grow the team, Thatcham Town Council would like to hear from qualified youth workers interested in detached work. Contact them on 01635 863592 or email: enquiries@thatchamtowncouncil.gov.uk
