Actively Building Bridges

bridges project pic

Over the half-term holiday, 70 young people from seven estates in Netherton went to the Lakeside YMCA National Centre on the banks of Lake Windermere for a week-long expedition. Funded by the Netherton Partnership/Community Action Fund and organised jointly by community/youth workers and the police, the aptly named Bridges Project undertook it's first big excursion.

The Bridges Project came about because of the desperate lack of facilities for young people in Netherton. Alan Meadows, Community Police Officer for Netherton explains, "Last summer we spent most of our time chasing children who were hanging around street corners - generally making a nuisance of themselves because they had nothing to do and nowhere to go".

Community leaders and the police felt that energies could be better channelled into positive activities - young people would develop skills and abilities to decide for themselves what they needed. Building bridges between the young people and the police is the first step towards this.

Activities that took place included rock-climbing, abseiling, initiative/problem-solving, overnight camp, obstacle course and aerial slide.

Berni Knox, one of the organisers of the expedition said, "It was a very successful week and introduced the young people to many new experiences. The group got on well together and came away having achieved so much".

Chad Thompson, a reporter for Netherton Now, was one of the youngsters selected to go on the trip. He said, "It went really well. It was a successful project, which I enjoyed very much. We were never bored because there were so many activities for us to take part in and lots of other fun and exciting games for us to enjoy. Everyone was friendly and we all enjoyed meeting each other and working together in groups. Overall it was a fantastic experience".

Further plans for the Bridges Project will be determined by the young people themselves and workshops will be set up to discuss issues and ideas. An exhibition of the lakeside expedition will also be held shortly at Bootle High School.


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