'Brilliant' Didcot youth worker set up own club aged 17
Yasmin grew up in Didcot and started going to TRAIN Youth aged 11, but said she later found herself drawn into trouble in the town as a teenager. "In secondary school I got into a different friendship group, and would say I was involved in anti-social behaviour," she said."In towns like Didcot and Wallingford there isn't really much to do or anywhere to go."We played to stereotypes of what [adults] and pretty much anybody thought of us."
Aged 15, Yasmin was asked by TRAIN Youth to help with interviews for a new staff member. She said: "I turned around to one of our trustees and said 'that'll be me you're interviewing one day'."After doing her work experience with the charity she said she "begged" her manager to set up an apprenticeship, which she then successfully applied for. She then worked for the charity while studying for a youth work diploma and is now a youth worker alongside her university studies. .
'She calms me down'
Michelle, a volunteer with the Wallingford group, said Yasmin was an "amazing" youth worker who the young people at the club identified with."I've known Yasmin for a long, long time. She's got a super relationship with all the young people that come through. She's a brilliant individual," she said.Dorian, who attends the group, said Yasmin was a particularly good listener. "When I'm angry I talk to her and she just calms me down. I have a feeling she's gone through the same thing."Charlotte, who travels to the group from her home in Benson, agreed: "She's a very easy person to chat to and she's... very understanding."Yasmin said she wanted Train Youth in Wallingford to be somewhere that was both inclusive and safe. "I think the young people of Wallingford know if they need something that they can call my work phone [or] come to us if they need anything."That's pretty much what my idea has been," she added.
You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
I was a designer-clad, BMW-driving school gate mum who seemed to have it all... but in reality, my husband kept me prisoner for 26 years. This is the sinister way he did it... and how I finally broke free
Lately I've ignored the doorbell to avoid debt-collectors, but relief trumped shame the other day when I checked the door camera and saw a volunteer from my local church bearing a large cardboard box, marker-penned 'Food Bank'. As a new recipient, I'd had a three-day wait for my paperwork to be fast-tracked before I could receive any handouts. Bob, the volunteer, shot me an embarrassed look and, before hurriedly disappearing down our driveway, made a lame joke about hoping our family dog wouldn't object to Pedigree chum.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Woman injured in 'fast-spreading' garden fire in Oxford
A woman has been treated in hospital for minor burns after a fire spread across two gardens in Fire and Rescue Service said it was called to Vicarage Road at about 12:45 BST on Saturday, to find a garden building and a shed in neighbouring properties burning, with the blaze spreading to a third fire engines were at the scene at the height of the blaze and the service said a smoke plume could be seen from Abingdon - about eight miles (13 km) cause of the fire is under investigation. Incident commander Jason Clifford said the fire had been "fast spreading" and urged people to check they had working smoke alarms. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Press and Journal
3 days ago
- Press and Journal
'We've made so many memories in our dream Countesswells townhouse'
Who: Jenny Sneddon, 41, an accountant, her wife Michelle, 42, an engineer and their two-year-old daughter Ruby. What: An immaculate four-bedroom semi-detached townhouse. Where: Countesswells, only a few miles from the city centre. 'Before moving here, we were in a traditional double upper flat in Rosemount. We loved the property but got the urge to move during the Covid lockdowns in 2020. At the time, we craved having our own outdoor space and more room to both work from home more comfortably. Also, we were thinking about starting a family and wanted a property with ground floor access and dedicated parking at the front door. So this house ticked all of those boxes and more. Jenny initially spotted the house on a Facebook advert – it was the ground floor herringbone flooring which caught her eye. We viewed the house in October 2020 on a whim, and made an offer within the week. It was probably the most impulsive purchase ever. At that point we hadn't made any moves to sell our current house but within a fortnight we had marketed and accepted an offer on it so it was obviously meant to be. When we first viewed the house, we were really impressed with the size. It was much more spacious than we expected of a new build, with higher ceilings and open hallways creating a feeling of space. The rooms are all very generously proportioned and the added bonus of built-in storage in each bedroom is great to keep clutter out of sight. There's also an abundance of natural light throughout the day which adds to the feeling of space and openness. The house was already finished to a great spec when we bought it. For example, the bathrooms are very luxurious, particularly the master ensuite with the twin basins and freestanding bath. We loved the open-plan kitchen/dining /living area with the pocket doors to close off the kitchen as needed. As it was the showhome, it had a lot of added extras such as full height tiling and full width mirrors in all bathrooms, chrome socket faceplates, LED skirting lights to the stairs and a landscaped garden. The location of the house was also part of the appeal as we have the Countesswells woods on our doorstep and have uninterrupted views across the countryside from the front windows. And on a clear day you can see Clachnaben. So we moved into the property in December 2020. Inside, the house is a relatively newly built semi-detached townhouse with four double bedrooms, two public rooms and four bathrooms including two ensuites. We initially did very little when we moved in. It really was ready to move into which was handy since we got the keys a week before Christmas! Over time we have made changes to a few rooms to make it more to our taste, such as adding wooden panelling and painting the upstairs 'snug' in a darker colour. We have redecorated the master bedroom, snug and spare bedroom which previously had a Spider-Man mural on the wall. The most work we have done was to the snug where we added panelling and changed the radiator to match the dark walls. We have also installed flooring and shelving in the attic with a Ramsay ladder to create additional storage space. In terms of interiors, we liked that the house was already decorated in quite a modern style which was very different to our previous house. It opened our minds a bit to different styles and has given us ideas which we'll take with us to our next home. We painted the master bedroom and 'snug' in Farrow and Ball 'Inchyra Blue'. The paint colour was actually inspired by the colour palette of our wedding venue, The Byre at Inchyra, so it felt only fitting to use it in the house. In the downstairs w/c, we used statement wallpaper from Emma J Shipley which works so well in the space. A lot of our furniture came from our old house, but we bought new furniture for the living room from Annie Mo's and the sofas from Loaf. Luckily for us, moving into this house was so easy. It truly was ready to move into with the house fully decorated, and flooring and blinds already in place. Reflecting on our time here, we've loved that the house is so big, there is no shortage of space and natural light throughout the day. The bathrooms in particular are very generous in size and finished to a high quality, creating a sense of luxury. We will especially miss this when we move to our next home. This has been a very happy home for us, with lots of special memories made here. Our daughter Ruby was born whilst we've lived here. So it's where we've watched her grow into the spirited toddler she is now.' 1 Gairnhill, Aberdeen, is on the market for offers over £435,000. To arrange a viewing contact Aberdein Considine on 01224 589589 or check out the website And if you enjoyed this story, you may also like: 'Our Aberdeenshire renovation was like a real-life episode of TV's Grand Designs'
