North Ayrshire Youth Services were out on the road across North Ayrshire this summer!
Taking place in a host of venues via the Council’s Mobile Youth Centre (MYC), the youth hub on wheels attracted over 3,000 residents for a summer of health and wellbeing support with a fun, festival feel.
Behind the scenes, Vicki Andrew and Dionne Griffiths – our Mental Health and Wellbeing Project Delivery Officers – worked hard to get prepared for a summer on the road alongside Locality Officers, sessional staff and our Youth Work Modern Apprentices.
Vicki shares: “We were so excited to get out and about in our communities again this summer, and luckily the sun kept on shining for all of the tour dates!
“All part of 2023’s ‘Take Time’ campaign, the free summer activities we offered for families were focused on a health and wellbeing theme, but most importantly, the van has had lots of fun without anyone having to travel far from home.”
Dionne adds: “The feedback has been incredible and we’re so grateful for the Council’s support as we delivered our promise of ensuring local children and families had a summer to remember.
“The roadshow has stopped off in different areas of mainland North Ayrshire and each session has been completely FREE – so that has been a major plus for families who have been struggling with the ongoing Cost-of-Living crisis.
“Although the inflatables, petting zoo and surf simulator were lots of fun, the health, wellbeing and Cost of Living support and information available each day, including wellness and mindfulness sessions, such as yoga, also went down really well.”
Young people across communities and schools will be seeing the Mobile Youth Centre again soon as the next round of #youthparticipation and children’s rights activities are being planned, stay tuned for updates.
Set up by the Council’s Community Learning & Development team, MYC is now in its 15th year running and was established to provide youngsters with a friendly and familiar space for community collaboration and inspiration.
Young people across communities and schools will be seeing the Mobile Youth Centre again soon as the next round of #youthparticipation and children’s rights activities are being planned, stay tuned for updates.
Donna Anderson, Youth Participation Officer shares: “Thank you to Vicki, Dionne and our extended team of youth and communities officers and of course our talented team of Youth Work modern apprentices who have been working hard over the summer to deliver an incredible MYC programme.
“This is another great step forward in ensuring young people in North Ayrshire remain connected during the holidays.
“Building on the Council’s Young People’s Participation and Citizenship Strategy, MYC is a brilliant way of going to where young people are to hear their views and experiences as we enjoy the activities together.
“Giving us the unique ability to reach wider audiences, the state-of-the-art, youth hub on wheels will help our youth workers to deliver meaningful activities and provide young people with a place to relax, unwind and connect with others in their communities.
“Take Time on the Road was a massive success over the summer holidays here in North Ayrshire. With 10 stops across North Ayrshire and over 3,000 of our young people and family engaged it really wasn’t to be missed.
“The team worked tirelessly along with our locality teams and partners to bring these events to our communities and I am extremely proud of the effort that the team put in. Each event was buzzing with excitement!
“We will now continue to support with a wide variety of events, activities and group work surrounding mental health and wellbeing across our schools and communities and look forward to more community-based fun events for the family over the next year.”
To find out more about how your Service can team up with Youth Services in North Ayrshire, email: youthwork@north-ayrshire.gov.uk
Follow the Youth Services Facebook and Youth Services Twitter for the latest event updates.
“Take Time on the Road was a massive success over the summer holidays here in North Ayrshire. With 10 stops across North Ayrshire and over 3,000 of our young people and family engaged.“The focus of these events was a mental health and wellbeing approach encouraging our communities to take time for themselves…
“We know that early intervention and resilience is key to supporting our young people and their families and their mental health and wellbeing. The team worked tirelessly along with our locality teams and partners to bring these events to our communities and I am extremely proud of the effort that the team put in.” Donna Anderson, Youth Participation Officer
With a petting zoo, inflatables, mobile youth centre, wellbeing workshops, information stalls and much more, the Take Time on the Road team gave residents and families a summer to remember.
