Good Practice: Youth work in Stoke -- Buses bring youth work to Stoke

played a significant part in an overall 26.7 per cent increase in Stoke young people accessing youth services between 2008 and 2010

Project Socca, Rocka, Hoppa
Funding £90,000 from Youth Capital Fund Plus and ongoing annual running costs of about £40,000 from the Safer Cities Partnership
Purpose To tackle antisocial behaviour by taking youth provision to where it is needed

Background

In the spring of 2009, a major review of youth services in Stoke-on-Trent identified several parts of the city that lacked amenities. At the same time, the council and its partners were keen to tackle antisocial behaviour among young people in some areas.

The solution was to look again at mobile youth provision, explains youth development manager John Simmonds. "It seemed the ideal way to take services out to young people," he says. "We'd previously had mobile provision, including an old school bus and a transit van with DJ decks. But they were patched-up second-hand vehicles and we wanted something more up-to-date."

Action

Young people were consulted at the city's annual youth conference. The result was a fleet of state-of-the-art youth activity vehicles. These include "Socca" vans, equipped with flat-pack football pitches. "We can set up a safe, contained match and you're not playing in a car park with jumpers for goalposts," says Simmonds. The "Rocka" van is a mobile recording studio where young people can try DJ-ing, photography and design. It is also fitted with a PlayStation to allow for gaming. Meanwhile, "Hoppa" vans - one for each of Stoke-on-Trent's five neighbourhoods - are mobile youth clubs, offering activities and advice or just somewhere to relax and chat. The vans, staffed by youth workers, started going out in summer 2009 to areas that needed them most, including antisocial behaviour hotspots identified by police.

The vans regularly attract 25 to 30 young people with up to 50 at some sessions. The project often joins up with other youth provision while the Rocka van has been used to deliver music technology courses in schools.

The latest addition is a Rolla van with computer and film equipment. The vans are usually out six nights a week and operate almost all year round.

Outcome

The advent of Socca, Rocka, Hoppa played a significant part in an overall 26.7 per cent increase in Stoke young people accessing youth services between 2008 and 2010. During the project's first year, antisocial behaviour dropped by 32 per cent.