Young Voices, Bright Futures: Future Leaders

The Future Leaders project is all about supporting young people to shape the town that they live in. We aim to give them the opportunity to share their views, shape opportunities, and have new experiences.

Those involved in The Future Leaders Project have participated in a range of activities and workshops, the Yellow Brick Road team, and members of Test Valley Borough Council community team.

The first year has largely been about building the foundations: creating a supportive environment, strengthening relationships, and helping young people understand how they can influence local decisions. It has also given us valuable insight into how they want to engage and what matters to them.

Feedback from young people on their personal experience:

"The Future Leaders Workshop has given me the confidence not just in my future aspirations but also in myself through all of my ventures."

" Personally I do not think that outside of Andover anarchy I'll be putting on a music festival however the skills it has taught me surrounding team working and working with people has aided me greatly in both my academic life and personal its particularly special when you consider the fact that I have autism (specifically the side that struggles socially) therefore it has been helpful for me especially as I prepare to move onto a practical team based course at college working on productions."

“Andover anarchy was something in my opinion something very special to the community, besides inspiring people to pick up instruments it gave a place for anybody to go and express themselves no matter who they were. Nerds, punks, goths, weirdos.” 

"At first, it was definitely, like, nerve-wracking, 'cause I do have anxiety to like go on stage and sing to people. So, it's nervous. Like, I was nervous. But it went good. It went really well. Afterwards it was amazing, cause so many people would, like, came up to me and be like, "Oh, it was really, it went really well." Um, it has really boosted my confidence, and it's also helped me in life in general, just because it's an overall, like, confidence boost."

"I would love to do it again. It was one of the most, best times in my life, because it's just something you can enjoy, and you will remember forever."

The Key to a New Beginning

A story about the progression of a mother and son.

A young women came to Yellow Brick Road Projects through a referral, she was timid and homeless, in a significant amount of debt, with her son in nursery and had a traumatic past with class A drugs and alcohol. She missed our first few sessions booked but I was gentle and patient. She started to trust it was to support her in making the right choices for herself and her son, and she now works with Catch 22. They lived in a hotel room until Christmas eve and we supported them so they could move into their forever home. With financial aid from First Point Housing Grant she managed to buy furniture and create a beautiful home. Working with other services has meant her son has been assessed for autism which has given support in nursery with speech and language. She has joined our You Matter Course and attends every week, she has also joined the Uplift programme and attends twice a week gym sessions which has improved her mental health. She is learning to drive and is doing amazing things every day, she is a wonderful mummy and is making the best choices in life.