Youth Services

Bright sparks will get a head start with their University and business careers after being awarded an Alan Robson Bursary

Two students have been awarded £300 PC World vouchers through the bursary set up in memory of the founder of an organisation which provides support services to the community. Alan Robson, who established the social enterprise Five Lamps, died aged 61 in 2009.

The bursary aims to help teenagers from Thornaby and Ingleby Barwick who are about to embark on a University degree.

The successful students were Chanjeet Singh, 18 who is going to Teesside University to study Accounting and Finance and Sarah Easby, 19 who is going to Durham University to start a Gateway to Medicine programme.

The Alan Robson Bursary Panel also decided to support Beth Stansmore, 16 with a £200 Hobbycraft voucher to help her establish her own jewellery making business.

Beth first approached Five Lamps in 2011 and was supported by Chris Butler, Five Lamps’ Senior Business Development Officer. Due to Beth’s age, Chris struggled to help Beth access the funding that she required to grow her business idea and suggested that she applied to the Alan Robson Bursary. Whilst the Alan Robson Bursary was originally established to help students who were going to University, the Panel were so impressed with Beth’s business idea and determination that they agree to support her.

Pat Chambers, Vice Chair of Five Lamps’ Board of Directors said

“Five Lamps is committed to making young people matter and supporting them with their educational attainment. Out of respect to Alan, we established the bursary in 2010. Since then we have supported 10 students and this year it’s great that we have been able to support another 3 talented young people”.

Alan set up Five Lamps over 25 years ago, under its former name Thornaby Impasse, to help the unemployed. Since then, the organisation has broadened its remit and now helps people to find work, start their own business, improve their finances and provide activities for young people.

Alan, a father of six from Thornaby had been chronically ill before he died suddenly of a heart attack. His wife Joan sat on the interview panel to decide on the awards.

Joan said

“Now in its third year, Alan would be amazed to have seen a bursary set up in his name to help local students. He was enthusiastic about young people getting help like this. I really enjoyed being part of the Panel and meeting all of the young people”.

Emily Johnson first came to Five Lamps in October 2010 after leaving school.

Emily attended a Foundation Learning programme, improving her basic skills and confidence. This helped Emily to move into Stockton Riverside College with more confidence to access a Travel and Tourism Level 3 course. However, Emily took the decision to leave college when she found out she was pregnant with her daughter.

Emily spent time preparing for her daughter’s arrival, moving into her own home and preparing for life as a single mum. Emily became extremely low and returned to Five Lamps to ask for advice and guidance. Anne Rookes, Five Lamps’ GOIL Advisor supported Emily and signposted her to teenage pregnancy support agencies.

In May 2011 Emily signed up to Five Lamps’ Get On In Life (GOIL) project. Five Lamps run GOIL on behalf of Stockton Council to support young people aged 14- 19 years who are Not in Education Employment or Training (NEET). Five Lamps work with young people to re-engage them in learning, training and employment. GOIL is funded by the European Social Fund (ESF).

Emily attended fortnightly sessions and looked at various career options, always taking into consideration childcare for her daughter. Emily has support from her mum, who looks after her daughter when possible. Emily’s mum works night shifts so Emily needed to find work on an afternoon when her daughter was looked after.

Emily attended courses and training in Emergency First Aid at Work and Health and Safety at Work. Anne supported Emily to complete job application forms and prepared her for possible interviews and learning interview techniques. Emily’s commitment to looking for employment was outstanding, while always wanting the best for her young daughter.

In April 2012 there was an opportunity for a voluntary position with Five Lamps Financial Inclusion division, five days a week, every afternoon. Emily grabbed the opportunity with both hands and organised childcare and settled into the role very quickly. Emily had changed from a young girl to an extremely mature young woman, accepting her responsibilities.

After weeks of volunteering, a position came available at Five Lamps through Stockton Council’s Youth Employment Initiative programme and Emily was keen to apply. Anne worked intensely with Emily at this time, looking at possible interview questions and answers, making enquiries at local nurseries about childcare positions for Emily’s daughter if she was successful at her interview.

Anne gained massive job satisfaction when Emily was successful in gaining a post. Emily was delighted; her daughter attends a local nursery and loves her days there.

Anne said

“Emily is settling well into her role as an Administrator. She is a wonderful role model for other young people, with her commitment and determination to seek work, care for her daughter and live independently”

Jake Morgan first came to Five Lamps in July 2010 when he attended an Entry to Employment (e2e) programme.

When he left, he tried to find work, but unfortunately he was unsuccessful and his confidence fell to an all-time low.

Six months after leaving e2e, Jake was eligible to access support from Five Lamps’ Get On In Life (GOIL), which he did in May 2011.

Jake attended fortnightly meetings with Anne Rookes, Five Lamps’ GOIL Advisor, who supported Jake to carry out job searches, look at training and employment opportunities, practiced interview techniques and researched companies. Anne also spent time building Jakes confidence back up.

Five Lamps run GOIL on behalf of Stockton Council to support young people aged 14 -19 who are Not In Education, Employment or Training (NEET). Five Lamps works with young people to re-engage them in learning, training and employment, GOIL is funded by the European Social Fund (ESF).

Jake appreciated the one-to-one support and said

“I wouldn’t have known where to start without Five Lamps’ support”

In July 2011 Jake started a training placement with K D Flavells as a welder. The following month Jake was offered a permanent position as an apprentice welder.

Jake started Middlesbrough college for one day a week as part of his apprenticeship programme and a year later he is well on his way to completing his apprenticeship. Anne continues to make regular contact with Jake and he is aware that support from Five Lamps is still available to him.

Darren Iveson first came to Five Lamps in March 2010, when he attended an Entry to Employment (e2e) programme following a series of negative issues looking for employment, which affected his confidence and self-esteem.

After leaving the programme Darren spent a number of months looking for employment yet again and was unfortunately unsuccessful.

In June 2011 Darren joined Five Lamps’ Get On In Life (GOIL) project and had regular appointments with Anne Rookes, Five Lamps’ GOIL Advisor, who supported him to carry out job searches, look at training and employment opportunities and spend time preparing for possible employment. Darren attended training sessions in Health and Safety at Work and looked at questions and answers in possible interview situations.

Five Lamps run GOIL on behalf of Stockton Council to support young people aged 14 -19 who are not In Education, Employment or Training (NEET). Five Lamps works with young people to re-engage them in learning, training and employment. GOIL is funded by the European Social Fund (ESF).

In August 2011 Darren was given the opportunity to attend K D Flavells Welding Specialists as a machinist on a temporary basis, so the company could assess his suitability for the role. Darren settled into the training very well and was offered a permanent position as an Apprentice Machinist. Darren started his apprenticeship in September 2011 and attends Middlesbrough College 1 day a week to complete theory work. Darren is contacted on a regular basis to check his progress.

Darren has just been on his first holiday abroad with his friends and he said

“If it wasn’t for the help and support from Five Lamps and the GOIL project, this would definitely not have happened.”

Anne said

“It’s really rewarding to see Darren doing so well. He is aware that he can contact me at any time as Five Lamps always provide on-going support to their young people” 

Five Lamps and Cleveland Police have been working in partnership to create a music project for young people at The Youthy.

Tracy Wilson, Five Lamps’ Youth Participation Manger and Ben Millington, PCSO consulted with young people to determine their interest in learning to play new musical instruments and forming music groups. The feedback was extremely positive and young people showed a lot of enthusiasm and excitement, primarily for drums, electric guitar and singing with a group.

Tracy put in an application with the support of Cleveland Police to TFM’s ‘A Better Tomorrow Campaign’ for funding to buy £946 worth of musical equipment. TFM and the Philanthropic Foundation liked the project so much that on the presentation evening on Thursday 15 March 2012, Five Lamps was awarded £2,000 for the project. The funding has been used to buy a drum kit, electric guitar and amp, an electric bass guitar and amp, 3 microphones and stands and a mixer.

The project will ensure that young people gain new musical skills, develop their creativity and improve their co-ordination skills, patience and concentration. Creativity allows young people to express themselves, be original and imaginative. Learning to play an instrument will also encourage self-discipline for the time needed to learn and develop the new skills. In addition the young people will gain team work and performance skills through working with other young people to create music and form their own bands. For some of young people, it will be the first time that they have ever played an instrument.

The project also aims to break down some of the barriers between Cleveland Police’s Police Community Support Officers and young people. Cleveland Police have committed a Police Community Support Officer and when available, a Neighbourhood Police Officer to each of the music sessions.

Ben Millington said

“Being a drummer myself, I will be teaching the youths to play the drums as part of my work with them – but also donating some of my spare time. A guitar teacher from the area has also offered his services to help the youngsters”

In time, the project will bring members from The Youthy’s other youth club groups together to create music, form the bands and to play at events together. This will help to promote understanding between different ethnicities, young people with and without disabilities and young people of different ages.

Alongside the music project, Jodie Durham Five Lamps’ Youth Worker has been working with Cleveland Police to organise football training sessions and matches between young people and the local Police Officers and PCSOs.

Tracy said

“Working with the police has provided an ideal opportunity for the young people to gain new skills whilst enabling a positive relationship to develop”

Teejay is an 8 year old boy who attends The Youthy’s VIBE sessions with his younger sister Kelsey and his mum Kay Dalkin.

VIBE (Versatile, Brilliant, Imaginative, Environment) is a youth club for young people with special needs and is run 2 evenings a week (Tuesdays and Fridays) from Five Lamps’ purpose built youth facility, the Youthy on Thornaby Road, Thornaby, Stockton.

Teejay battles with a number of physical difficulties and a visual impairment; however since attending the VIBE sessions he has presented himself as a happy and intelligent young man who never fails to take on a challenge or shy away from learning new skills.

Teejay started attending the VIBE sessions after his mum had heard about the sessions from other carers. Teejay and his sister have continued to attend regularly since.

Teejay has always found it difficult to make friends, but his mum feels that the VIBE staff have helped build his confidence and slowly his social skills are improving. Stuart Green, Five Lamps’ Youth Participation Worker welcomed Teejay to the sessions and he quickly became a favourite amongst the group. He has now started integrating with other young people and has built strong relationships with all the VIBE staff who have helped him develop his skills and he has made plenty of friends since attending the VIBE nights.

The improvement in Teejay was highlighted in the recent Youthy’s Got Talent show in which he sang and danced in front of 100 people, putting on a fantastic performance and showing his ever growing confidence amongst the group.

In addition to the impact the VIBE session has had on Teejay, it has also been a huge help to Teejays’ mum. Kay said

“The VIBE sessions give me a chance to relax and to see Teejay happy and enjoying himself is fantastic!”

Before attending the VIBE sessions, Teejay and his sister Kelsey did not do anything on a Tuesday and Friday evening and the VIBE sessions have given Kay and her family a regular place to go and an opportunity for Kay to have a much needed break from her caring responsibilities.

VIBE is funded by Children in Need

Young people from Five Lamp’s Youthy have decided to take matters into their own hands to raise money to fund a weekend residential.

A group of 12 young people aged between 11 to 16 years who regular attend The Youthy’s Senior Youthy Club wanted the opportunity to experience a weekend residential, develop team skills and take part in outdoor adventurous activities. They discussed their idea with Amy Garbutt, Five Lamps’ Youth Participation Worker.

The young people realised that they faced the barrier of funding, as a residential weekend costs around £2,000; which would either need to be funded directly by the young people or raised on their behalf. A significant amount of young people who attend The Youthy are from deprived backgrounds and cannot afford to pay for a weekend away. With this in mind, Amy worked with the young people to generate fundraising ideas which they could take ownership of.

The young people and Five Lamps staff spent two long full days in November 2011 bag packing at Morrison’s at Teesside Park and Asda at Thornaby, where they raised a whopping £1,300 towards the total. The young people were a credit to Five Lamps and showed a positive image of young people, being very polite, friendly and helpful to the shop staff and customers.

Jake Davies, aged 12 said

“I did the bag packing because it is fun and you raise your own money for the residential and it is exciting. I would like to go on a residential because I have never been before and I would like to go away with my friends.”

Jamie Cooper, aged 11 said

“I prefer to raise money because it shows that we can raise enough and it feels good. I have never been on a residential but I think it will be great. It just comes to show how well behaved we are!”

Five Lamps have supported the hard work of the young people by contributing £400 to the residential via a donation from an organisation called CCLA, who every year, instead of sending out Christmas cards, identify 2 charities to donate funds to. CCLA are a specialist investment manager for charities.

The young people, led by Amy and the team at The Youthy, are now working hard towards organising a charity night on Thursday 5 April 2012. The night is being held at The Youthy on Thornaby Road, Thornaby and will involve activities for the young people and adults alike, including cake decorating, a colouring competition hair and beauty activities, a raffle, blind card and bingo. In addition there will be music entertainment by Discarded, a band made up of Fire Brigade personnel, who will be playing rock and pop music from the 1960’s to now.

Tickets are already on sale at The Youthy for this fabulous evening for the price of £1 per person and the evening will be running from 5.30-8pm. Tracy Wilson, Youth Participation Manager said

“We anticipate that this evening will be a fantastic success and will enable the young people to raise the remainder of the funds needed to organise their residential. The young people are playing vital roles in the organisation of the event and will be taking lead roles on the evening”.

Young people aged between 7 to 18 years who attend Five Lamps’ Youthy have busy during November and December 2011 making homemade gift hampers, which have been donated to elderly residents in Thornaby

The young people have been learning cooking skills, which they have used to create delicious jams, tasty chutneys, shortbread and mince pies. Even bird food balls were made and also given out.

Staff and volunteers spent time with the young people, teaching them how to knit and crochet scarves, slipper socks and headbands to be given out with the hampers.

The young people involved in making the hampers are regular attenders at The Youthy on an evening and weekend at Allstars, VIBE, Senior Youthy and Sunday Youth Clubs.

22 hampers were given to local elderly residents in South Thornaby and Mandale and Victoria ward of Thornaby. The response from the residents has been fantastic and the young people feel proud of their efforts.

Eileen Craggs, a local resident said

“Absolutely brilliant, what a good gesture” and another resident from Forest Mews said “We don’t get many visitors. It’s absolutely lovely, a bit of Christmas spirit”

The young people were really pleased to receive a lovely thank you card from Mrs Armstrong saying

“Thank you for being considerate to residents of Cedar Court”

Five Lamps’ Youth Services have been working closely with members of Thornaby’s Muslim community to deliver a new youth club for young Muslims

Members of the Muslim community approached Five Lamps as they wanted a base for young Muslim boys aged 11 – 18 years to hang out. The community realised that Five Lamps’ purpose built youth facility, The Youthy on Thornaby Road was the ideal venue.

Five Lamps worked closely with the community to organise an open event on Sunday 2 October 2011. The open event was a huge success, with over 112 people attending, 45 of which were young people. Introductory speeches were followed by delicious food donated by the families of those who attended.

Irfan Mahfooz said

“Hopefully this is the beginning of a great project to integrate all of the cultures we have in Thornaby. It was fantastic to see a lot of support from the parents and the community for the launch day. Our mission is to help guide the energy of the youth in a positive and constructive manner”

The young people had an opportunity to use our facilities, allowing time for the Youth Workers to get to know them and discuss ideas for the Youthy. It was a great opportunity to speak to the family as a whole and to answer any queries. During the event, Five Lamps’ staff consulted with both the young people and the adults to determine exactly what was needed for the young people.

The feedback from the event was fantastic. The families were extremely positive and delighted that Five Lamps can offer this service for their children. There is a great keenness to promote positive messages to the young people, encourage them to be active, respectful member of the community and help them develop into confident and considerate adults.

Shazad Khalid said

“I really enjoyed the whole community coming together at the Youthy and supporting the ideas of helping the youth to become more focussed and encouraging them to have fun in a safe environment. The youth and community volunteers were outstanding and it couldn’t have been set up better without their help. We were expecting numbers of around 70 to 80, however we were amazed to have 110 people come through the door and show their support. This is one of many teachings of Islam that is for the community to come together and work for a better future by encouraging the children at an earlier age”

Working with the local Muslim community has given Five Lamps staff more insight into the Islamic faith and the guidelines by which they live.

The first official Muslim youth club session started on Sunday 9 October 2011. The youth club is open after prayer time at Thornaby Mosque and is flexible with the hours to accommodate for daylight saving, when prayer time also alters.

The families are very keen for Five Lamps to now initiate a group for the young girls and discussions are underway to make this happen.

Yusuf Deen said

“I really enjoyed the first day of the youth club, having the chance to work with and help the local community was really good. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves that was the main thing. I thought the team from the Youthy are top drawer and look forward to more in the future”

James Davison, is a 13 year old young person who attends the Youthy’s VIBE youth club.

VIBE (Versatile, Brilliant, Imaginative, Environment) is a youth club for young people with special needs. The young people come to VIBE to make new friends, socialise, take part in a wide variety of activities including cooking, arts and crafts, climbing wall, pool, table tennis, dancing, discos, talent shows and hair and beauty.

VIBE is run 2 evenings a week (Tuesdays and Fridays) from Five Lamps’ purpose built youth facility, the Youthy on Thornaby Road, Thornaby, Stockton.

James is a young adult with autism, sensory integration dysfunction and delayed learning. He also has very limited speech. Autism effects balance and coordination making the Youthy’s climbing wall a big challenge for James; as he has difficulty controlling his arms and legs in unison. James also struggles with his concentration when climbing but when he is focused he regularly reaches the top.

One of James’ biggest hurdles was learning to descend correctly from the wall. James struggled getting into the correct position to descend correctly. Gary Stoker, Five Lamps Climbing Wall Instructor and James parents worked together to show James the stance that was required. This involved one of his parents holding his feet up while Gary pulled his waist away from the wall. Gary would then lower him while his parents walked his feet down.

Through repetitive coaching for a number of months from his parents and Gary, James has learned to descend correctly and now appears to enjoy coming down more than going up. Although James does have problems with emotions and how to express himself, he is very happy with himself when he uses the climbing wall.

Sharon, James’ Mum said

“Finding activities that James can both access and enjoy has always been a challenge. The Youthy offers a bustling, lively atmosphere. It is a safe place where disabled children and young adults can drop in for as long as they want or are comfortable with, in a non-judgemental atmosphere that encourages socialisation, often making new friends along the way too.

James has always enjoyed the Climbing Wall under the safe supervision of a qualified instructor, but he could not understand that he was supposed to walk down the wall using his feet. The change of method coming down was difficult for him to grasp. However over the months, with patient instruction, by using single words and by showing (often climbing alongside), James has managed to walk down the wall properly. He may still swing or hang loose if he is in a cheeky mood, but with the dedication of Gary, James has learnt new skills whilst having fun”

VIBE is funded through support from Children in Need.