Following the visit from Helen Bunting of NACRO (see report - reprinted below)
******************************************************************************************************************
Our speaker this week (13th Feb 2013) was Helen Bunting from NACRO (originally stood for rehabilitation of offenders) although still including this as a valuable part of it's brief, they now encompass many more other aspects.So whilst Crime Prevention is still high on the agenda, they also focus on education, housing, productive leisure time.
Helen leads the Youth Work Team at NACRO's Burlington House, Barrow HQ.
There they offer a range of different activities for young people, youth cafe, a cinema room, games room, pool tables, gaming machines,hairdressing salon etc etc.
There is also an Education team lead by Cheryl Niven where they teach employability skills, Child Care, Catering Skills etc fullfilling a need for some of the disadvantaged youngsters they see who may have no role model to teach them the basics of living in our society. Without such skills young people have little chance of finding work and can end in the descending spiral which leads to crime and an increasingly desperate future.
As an organisation NACRO acts as a psuedo family, breaking the chains of decline and pointing youngsters in a better direction.
Many of the youngsters do not fit into mainstream education, several years ago they would have left school at 14 and sought employment...they are often good with their hands and relish practical work, but do not respond well in the class room environment. Taken out of the class room and faced with practical skill challenges, they do respond to education. The local Pit Stop Project (we heard about from Richard Johnston a few months ago) is one such initiative which seeks to tap practical skills and grafts on education in a very successful manner. NACRO's education initiatives work in a simlar way.
Currently they are seeking to develop a facsimile domestic kitchen which can be used to teach catering skills (at domestic- not professional level). Helen said there budget was
more this year we combined our collection with TESCO's initiative in aid of the Cumbria Flood Appeal
more Project to construct raised bed and greenhouse for use of resident's at Ostley House Home for the Blind at Barrow in Furness
more Our annual tin collection - so far we have only one date from TESCO
more Collect from Michaelson House for distribution - then week commencing 10th Nov to collect back in again
more Supplies for Barrow Food Bank
more A tick sheet will be passed around nearer the time.
more K2B Walk - Marshalling Duties
more Dalton Community Centre
more Trolley Push
more Breif update on Nacro
more K2B - start !
more K2B - start !
more Update and reminder to members of this vital service
more Tin collection at TESCO Barrow in Furness
more Organ donation scheme
more Publicise national scheme