#Chances4Children: CYP Now’s Covid-19 heroes revealed
Fiona Simpson
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Professionals working with vulnerable children have gone above and beyond to support families during the coronavirus pandemic.
CYP Now is calling on the sector to nominate those you believe have been true heroes over the last 12 months.
Here are some of those who have been nominated by their colleagues so far:
Eugenia Kaye, young women's co-ordinator at SoapBox Youth Centre
At SoapBox, everything on Mondays is dedicated to young women and, since April 2020, Eugenia has taken impactful pre-pandemic work to a completely different level through the ‘No Ceilings’ project.
To date this weekly work has included: a PhD study exploring the impact of Hip-Hop and Grime on young women; an international, intergenerational human rights project between the UK and Palestine; a business development and mental health project with Peabody; a dedicated filmmaking course delivered by a professional female cinematographer; fortnightly networking opportunities with industry professionals and drop-in support sessions.
Alongside this, Eugenia has developed an online gallery with young artists, a space where young people used their creative talents to explore the impact of the pandemic and lockdown.
The 2.0 version of this now sees young people from four schools in Islington, north London, working in monthly rotation to choose themes and make creative content that responds to and reflects upon social issues that are important to them.
Eugenia has acted as the wider support lead for young people through four weekly sessions dedicated to positive mental health, pastoral support and personal planning, via Skills Builder’s Universal Framework Tool. She has also worked with young people to organise a series of conferences to help prepare their peers for the most challenging of employment landscapes.
James Dellow, SoapBox Centre Manager said: “Over the course of the pandemic, Eugenia has shown herself to be the staff member that the most excluded and most vulnerable young people consistently turn to when they are in need.
“It is quite incredible that, rather than simply maintaining what was already high quality provision, she has enhanced every piece of her pre-pandemic work alongside co-producing excellent, innovative and new projects with young people. Despite the difficulties of working from home and being away from young people and colleagues, Eugenia has risen to the moment and given every ounce of herself to deliver a broad range of programmes and support that has been transformational for the young people that we work with. And her impact on the staff team has been no less important, with her positive, can-do and empathetic style acting as a friendly support (and challenge) to be the best we can be on behalf of young people. For these reasons (and many more) Eugenia is a Covid hero to everyone at SoapBox.”
Jamil Mungul, digital and tech lead at SoapBox Youth Centre
Jamil’s journey at SoapBox started three years ago when, by his own admission, he joined as a young person who was lacking enthusiasm, personal ambition and a sense of direction. Given a supportive and nurturing environment, Jamil started to show his potential, both through his caring manner and his industry-level digital, media and technology skills, seeing him work his way up to volunteer and then paid member of staff.
However the journey, as for many of his peers, wasn’t without challenges and as he entered the first national lockdown, the impact that he would go on to have in the following year was not clear. But, as SoapBox’s online work grew, so did Jamil’s role and importance. Graduating in July last year from his undergraduate degree course in Games Design was a pivotal moment (and impressive in its own right, given the circumstances).
His work since the summer has seen Jamil become the most in-demand staff member at SoapBox, with weekly work that now includes: an OCN course in games design with SEND students; a 3D Design work placement support for autistic young people; online tutorials hosted on the SoapBox Online YouTube Channel, which has grown since June 2020 to over 1700 subscribers and nearly 180,000 views of content; a coding workshop for young people who are shielding; a dedicated 3D and Games Design programme for young people from minority ethinic backgrounds and bespoke programmes for the most socially and digitally excluded young people.
Jamil has worked with young people from SoapBox to create the centre in Virtual Reality, an immersive 3D Visual and 3D Audio space that personalises the online experience for young people, facilitates natural, real-world communication and creates new possibilities for online learning.
Nicholas Crivello, SoapBox Deputy Manager, said: “Jamil has been instrumental in organisations like The Guardian defining our work as “21st Century Youth Work” and UK Youth selecting SoapBox Online as a Finalist for their ‘Inspiring Pioneer Award 2021’.
“His story is many ways the quintessential youth work one, a young person arrives at a youth centre lacking the confidence in himself and his abilities. He finds an environment that doesn’t judge him and supports him when he falls over. And as a result, he is able to first understand and then to begin to achieve his potential. And then he flies… We are immensely proud of what Jamil has done and who he has become over the last year, a person who uses all of his skill and knowledge and understanding to make a real difference to the lives of the most excluded young people in society. That makes him a Covid hero in our eyes.”
Mel Braden, head of nurseries at YMCA Black Country Group
Mel manages six settings registered for 368 places in disadvantaged areas across the Black Country, and employs a team of 70 early years practitioners.
Sally Cowan, chief operations officer at the Black Country Group, said: “Throughout the pandemic Mel has continued to ensure we are able to deliver quality childcare to vulnerable children and their families. She has been supportive of her staff team, ensured we are operating in a Covid secure environment and juggled the inevitable task of closing bubbles when needed, dealing with furlough arrangements and meeting the needs of key workers.
“Mel has continued to show resilience and determination during this most challenging time, regularly going above and beyond in all she does. She is an extremely positive and motivational leader and encourages those around her.
“Despite her own fears and anxieties… she has enabled us to keep the doors of our settings open, to meet the needs of vulnerable children and ensure safeguarding issues are dealt with appropriately.
“She is a true Covid hero!”
Nominate your Covid heroes by emailing: fiona.simpson@markallengroup.com