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When I called at 'The Hangout' one Thursday afternoon a few weeks ago it
was unusually quiet. Isn't it always like that? You've got a visitor
coming and the regulars stay away in droves! With 50 youngsters aged 11
to 16 on their books this after school drop is used to large numbers as
well as a high volume, energetic atmosphere two days a week.
The alternative after school attraction that day was a travelling
fairground giving cheap rides. A week earlier the drop in had also
excluded two youngsters whose behaviour had got out of hand, which meant
their friends were staying away for a bit too. It all meant more time to
speak to Jane Forshaw, who was instrumental in setting up the project,
Maggie Cole who now runs it, and the volunteers who were there that day
- Patrick Anderson, John Kear and Penny Noon.
Meeting in the large hall behind Providence United Reformed Church, New
Mills, Derbyshire, the project has been going for two a half years. It
has a distinctive way of working, which is what attracted the attention
of the judges for Congregational and General Insurance's National
Community Award when they first read the project's competition entry. In
March this year 'The Hangout' became one of three projects to win an
Award in 2007.
somewhere to be
This is not a place where young people are expected to 'do' things but
somewhere they can 'be', You can sit in the kitchen and talk to someone
about what's bothering you at school, if that's what you need. You can
take a turn on the karaoke machine, go on the internet, do some craft
work, have a game of basketball or cook your tea if you feel like it.
The important thing is that you don't have to do anything of these
things if you don't want to.
Such freedom from outside expectations and target setting has not come
cheaply. An earlier youth project at the church lost its funding when
the agency concerned changed its terms and conditions. The church got
the blame for that within the local community, although it had nothing
to do with the decisions that cut off the money, and worse than that the
youngsters themselves felt very let down.
That experience made Jane Forshaw determined to set up the new project
in a different way so it didn't rely on grants from outside to keep
going. She explained: 'The trouble with external funding is that you are
always wondering if you are going to be there next year. We now run on a
shoestring – our biggest expense is the internet. The children pay 50
pence per session and £1 per year membership. They pay for their tuck
and we make a little bit on that.'
With the 2000 prize money from the National Community Award the project
is going to invest in the fabric of the building and improve the
electricity supply, which is barely able to cope with the demands made
on it now. If you have too many electrical appliances on at the same
time there's always a risk that something will overload the system and
then everything cuts out.
transforming
There are plans for a recording studio in a part of the hall which used
to be a men's club and snooker room. Stockport based Christian community
arts group C3 will set up the studio and run it. This will transform a
drab, unused set of rooms into a highly attractive place for youngsters
to come to and discover their musical gifts. One asset the church hall
has is plenty of room within which to develop ideas like this – even if
it doesn't have decent heating in the winter yet.
Another characteristic of 'The Hangout' is the way that, despite being
based in a church hall, it doesn't have an openly Christian approach.
It's an implicitly Christian project, not an explicitly Christian one,
and that is borne out in the range of volunteers who come to help, about
a dozen in all.
The Christian volunteers see their work as part of their service of the
community whereas those with no particular religious faith see being
part of the team as an opportunity to put something back into the
village as well as a way of using their spare time fruitfully.
There doesn't appear to be any tension between those two outlooks.
Everyone gets along together well in the team, dealing with the varying
needs and moods of whichever youngsters decide to turn up on a given
evening.
Like any community, there are rules, but at The Hangout these are kept
to a minimum and all bar one have been decided on by the youngsters
themselves. Everyone is to be treated with respect, and the same goes
for people's belongings. There are to be no smoking or alcohol or drugs
in the place, no physical abuse and no abusive language. The extra rule,
added by the staff, is that everyone must keep off the stage in the hall
for reasons of health and safety.
As well as the regular volunteer team there are other helpers who call
in some weeks. On the day I was there two local sixth formers were
helping the youngsters to exercise in the hall. The local community
police officers, Will and Sarah, are regular visitors too, and
Derbyshire Youth Service offers help too with activities.
home from home
Part of the attraction of the place for the young people seems to lie in
the informality and friendly atmosphere – a home from home for some,
and a safe place for those who maybe don't have someone to listen to
them in that few hours after school.
Maggie was making pot noodles in the kitchen with Hayley, aged 12, when
I joined them. Hayley's verdict was that The Hangout 'rocks'. She said :
'I heard about it from posters in school and everybody talked about it
so I came. I didn't know where it was so I followed people up here.'
For Matthew the drop in is somewhere to see your friends: 'The helpers
are here if you need someone to talk to about something at school. It's
really nice. It's a good place to come to.' he said.
Jane Forshaw says the staff see their reward when youngsters come back
after they've left, much more grown up and quite different: ‘You can
see they are potentially going to be nice human beings. You meet them in
the street and they're really friendly to you.
There was one boy who came back and apologised after an incident and did
jobs for us. The youngsters learn to have some respect if they are
treated with respect. That boy still comes. I think he felt we would ask
him to never come again but after he apologised we had him back.'
Fellow volunteer Penny explains her motivation for coming each week very
simply: 'It wakes me up.'
Having tasted a little of the atmosphere at The Hangout on a quiet day I
can well imagine how 'woken up' I might feel there on a day with more
youngsters around. Jane Forshaw looks to the future with interest and
openness: 'We are not set in stone. What you see here will not be what's
here in a year from now.' Watch this space.
Kirsty Thorpe is Convener of the Communications Committee
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