Latest news with #TrainYouth
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
'Brilliant' youth worker sets up own club at 17
A woman who set up her own youth club aged 17 has said she was inspired by her own youth workers. Yasmin Betteridge leads Wallingford TRAIN in Oxfordshire, an offshoot of Didcot charity TRAIN Youth which she attended as a teenager last year. She said her youth workers were some of her "biggest role models" and helped her "build up a lot of confidence". Yasmin won a "highly commended" title at the Oxfordshire Apprentice Awards last month. 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. . 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. Proceeds of crime help fund young people's charity Youth workers criticise 'disastrous' funding cuts Train Youth
BBC News
12-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Thames Valley proceeds of crime help fund young people's charity
A charity that provides mentoring to young people who have previously been involved in anti-social behaviour has benefitted from a grant funded by money reclaimed from charity Train Youth was successful twice in 2024 in acquiring a grant from the Thames Valley community fund, which is organised by the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).The fund relocates proceeds raised through the sale of items seized from criminals to community groups and charities across the Drabble, the charity's chief executive, said he "can't think of a better use" for the proceeds than "reinvesting them in community in organisations like Train and helping young people". Georgina Dawson, who is a mentor with the charity, said it was "really helpful" to show the "wider community and our young people" where the funding has come from."We can actually break down any sort of stigma there is between the police and young people," she said."It's turning something that came from crime into something really positive and that has further impact." More than £200,000 of grants have been awarded to 38 organisations as part of the latest round of funding announced earlier this Barber, Thames Valley PCC, said communities would benefit from the most recent round of funding through "projects which align with a number of key policing priorities".Among others selected to receive between £250 and £10,000 are The Slough Job Creation Hub, Windsor Christian Action Homeless Project and Youth Challenge which received two grants in 2024, also runs youth clubs across south Oxfordshire and has about 600 young people engaging with its services each Drabble said there were "fewer and fewer spaces available" to young people, meaning that having a place like Train where they "can't get into trouble" and can "interact with positive role models" was "vitally important".Teenager Ellie, who uses Train, said it had made her "more confident and happier"."It made me feel like I could talk to somebody and be myself, and I quite liked that," she teen Louie added that it was "just good vibes", as there were "people here you can talk to about literally anything". You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
