Latest news with #JonDingle
BBC News
11 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Campaign for new youth space in Plymouth
A group of young people in Plymouth is trying to raise £150,000 for a new youth space in Youth is a community interest company which is planning to convert a former car-breaking yard into an area where young people can meet and access by the group found the city had "lost two-thirds of its youth centres" in the 14 years to 2019. A councillor supporting the planning application, Ray Morton, said he believed there was a link between the provision of youth services and a reduction in anti-social behaviour. 'Our own space' Youth worker Jon Dingle said: "We've actually got the space - it's going through planning permission at the moment. "Once that's cleared what we need to do is then raise money to be able to turn this space into an adequate space for young people."He added: "In Ernesettle at the moment we're in the church hall, which we're really grateful for, but it's not really adequate for what we'd like to do."15-year-old Niamh said the new space was much needed: "A lot of people just roam round the streets and they have nothing to do."It's good to have our own space in Ernesettle because it's kind of hard to get to places especially if you don't have a lot of money."Mr Morton, a Labour councillor in the city, said that since Connecting Youth had started providing services in the church hall anti-social behaviour in Ernesettle had already improved "quite substantially" and there had been a reduction in vandalism. 'Offering support' Connecting Youth was formed in 2023 after the closure of a charity called Barefoot, which provided youth services in Plymouth. Mr Dingle said: "I thought I can't just walk away from this. So that's why we set up the CIC, but we've not had a space of our own."When I started working for the charity Barefoot in Ernesettle back in 2014, Ernesettle had some of the highest levels of antisocial behaviour in the city. "Within a couple of years we've brought that down significantly. "But we don't go in focusing on antisocial behaviour, we go in offering young people opportunities, offering them support, offering them chances, trying to build their aspirations," he added.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Cornwall youth service tackles issues from Netflix drama
An "Adolescence Workshop" to discuss issues raised by the Netflix drama about a boy accused of murdering a girl from his class has been held at a youth club in group discussed questions about the show Adolescence, including: "How do online spaces make bullying easier to hide? Have you ever been made to feel small? And, why do you think some people carry knives?"Youth worker Jon Dingle, who ran the session for teenagers and parents at the Callington Youth Project Group, said: "The idea was to have a healthy and in-depth discussion around these issues."Mr Dingle said he believed giving young people better access to youth services would help address the issues raised in the series. Since the drama has aired, "it has been a hot topic for discussion amongst young people", said Mr Dingle, who works with up to 200 young people aged 10 to 19 on a weekly basis, including youth services in Plymouth too."I don't think a day goes by in any of the sessions we run where that programme, or an issue relating to that programme, isn't brought up," he Dingle said the drama had highlighted a need for youth services to be increased. He explained that "a lot of the challenges we see young people face" could be "helped and made better with the right type of spaces to come to, and the right type of people guiding these young people", he said."For me, to be able to be part of that is a real honour, but it's also a struggle and a fight because we need more," he added. 'Incredibly topical' Theo, 16, said the drama delved into a lot of issues that he and people he knew had struggled with."It's incredibly topical. How social media polarises people. Especially with misogyny," he said. Theo's dad, Dan, said the series had helped him better understand an online world that he as a parent did not always feel a part of."The thing that really stuck with me was the emojis. And the coding for what that meant within the school culture. That was complete mystery to me," he said. Dray, 19, said he thought the so-called "80/20 rule", which was featured in the drama and wrongly claims 80% of women are attracted to 20% of men was "completely ridiculous". "It's not a matter of how you look. It's a matter of how you come across," he said. Discussing the best way to handle rejection, Dray said to the group: "It's not that person's fault if they don't want to be with you." Involving parents Reflecting on what he was trying to achieve by involving parents in the workshop, Mr Dingle said he thought it was "vitally important" that adults were "a bit more clued-up" about the issues affecting young what people could do if they were worried about a young person who was spending most of their spare time in their bedroom, he said: "There will quite often be reasons behind any worrying behaviour, so if you are able to have a frank and honest conversation, that's a good start."Encouraging parents to seek support from other adults in the lives of their young people, he added: "If you can access a teacher, a youth worker, or someone else who's within their life who has that bit of trust, who can work with you to support that young person, then I think that's got to be the way to go."
