Author: mshaadmin

Following a time of planning and co-production with a range of young people open to the service, the new YPS Intervention Plan – ‘My Journey’ was officially launched for March. Every young person open to our own survey will be involved in creating their own intervention plan, setting goals and reflecting on their experience. Thank you to all young people who got involved with the process!! 

Mary Seacole delivered an interactive session on exploitation, using their VR system to showcase the TAPOUT app. Luton Sexual Health kindly joined Tokko for a session, engaging with our members on the topic of healthy relationship and exploring what these look like.  Our final visit was from Caraline, a charity that specialises in supporting people through eating disorders. Two staff members kindly donated their evening to engaging with our members and answering the questions the young people had.  As we look ahead to April, our focus is on staying Active, so members will get to use the onsite gym facilities, as well as enjoying external providers coming in to give a boxing session to our members. We concluded March by having a pre-Eid celebration with traditional south eastern food and henna.

Ali and Yousuf, from Luton Sixth Form College and Denbigh High School, were elected through being part of the Luton Youth Council, and joined debates throughout the day to decide on The UK Youth Parliament Manifesto 2024-2026 “Shaping Our Future, Today Not Tomorrow” which will be coming out as part of the sitting. There were a number of debate options and following much discussion and voting from the Members of Youth Parliament from across the UK, the final vote was for 16 and 17 year olds to get the vote, and Period Dignity. All this shaped by our very own young people. When we talk about being Child Friendly, not much else gets close, when we can truly shape the future of the town and the country, led by our children and young people’s voice.

If you’re interested in learning to cook in a fun way, we welcome you to Open Door! Last year we looked at dishes from around the world and as we moved into Veganuary, and we looked into meat free alternatives. Heading into February young people have been taking the lead and have picked dishes around their culture, such as Macaroni Pie and Jerk Pasta! We may have some exciting news to follow, so stay tuned.

We started the month by meeting with Bedford Borough Youth Cabinet and Central Bedfordshire Youth Parliament, which was a first time for all of us, coming together to share what we do, discuss future work, and of course, a few games! We also were lucky enough to have a meeting with local MP Sarah Owen, discussing Social Expectations, Gender in Sports and Equality. We moved forward with our campaign for Domestic Violence Awareness, making over 20 gift bags for women in refuge in support of Women’s Aid, and adding to an art exhibition they will be hosting over March. Our Vice Chair Natasha also spoke at the Luton 2040 Conference about what the future of Luton looks like, ensuring youth voice is being heard as we work towards the 2040 vision for Luton!

They were Runners Up at the recent Luton’s Best Awards in the Child of Courage Category! They have also been engaging in Local Consultations as we work towards the 2040 Vision. This included workshops around local transport, where we spoke about issues around safety and cost, as well as traffic around our schools.

We also are Futures House on Tuesdays! This is a drop in session, where young people engage with cooking, awareness sessions around health & well-being, music workshops, and a selection of games!

Have you heard that Tokko Youth Hub has reopened? We support their new Boys2Men sessions on Mondays, where you can get support from targeted youth workers and use of free Gym Equipment!

We also are Futures House on Tuesdays! This is a drop in session, where young people engage with cooking, awareness sessions around health & well-being, music workshops, and a selection of games! The Youth Council have also had a busy start to the year! They were Runners Up at the recent Luton’s Best Awards in the Child of Courage Category! They have also engaged in Local Consultations as we work towards the 2040 Vision. This included workshops around local transport, where we spoke about issues around safety and cost, as well as traffic around our schools.

Here we began with a discussion with MPs from the Liberal Democrats, and Labour about safety on public transport, healthcare, and improvements in education, but also about the current cost of living with taxes and mortgages. This was an enriching opportunity to understand how the people in power are improving our lives and supporting the youth of the country. After the discussion, we were split into groups with people all across the region. Within these groups, we were given different tasks where points were available in the competition between groups. Our first task was to write a letter to a councillor explaining why we believe that the closure of youth clubs would not be beneficial for the youth of a town. Following this, the second task was to plan a discussion with the councillor who was still not convinced that closing youth clubs was a bad idea. To ensure our discussion was fluent and persuasive, we had to plan things like date, time, location, and funding plans as if we were planning a real event. The third task was to organise a rally/protest which we eventually had to perform, advocating against the reduction and closure of youth clubs. It was interesting to see what the other groups had come up with as we had many creative and expressive forms including singing, dancing, and plays. After the rallies were over, our points gained were tallied and the winners were announced. Overall, the day was a fantastic experience where we had the opportunity to network with other youth councils in the region and learn more about how we can support the youth of Luton in voicing our opinions and improving the town for everyone. Written by Shifa, the chair of the Luton Youth Council