Lidl Hawick

Escape Youth Services is a locality wide youth provision delivering youth work opportunities throughout the Teviot and Liddesdale area of the Scottish Borders to young people aged 9-18. We offer a drop-in facility for young people in the main town of Hawick; set up in direct response to local needs in 2005 and offer additional 1:1 support, groupwork in schools and the community, holiday activity programmes and a variety of skills-based projects. Our vision is to enhance the lives of young people, building a positive future, by developing and sustaining a supportive service where young people can succeed and increasing the range, quantity and quality of youth-led provision. A weekly programme of activities will be developed alongside the young people so that the sessions are as youth led as possible but would include topics such as music, arts, film and media, crafts, cooking, healthy and active lifestyles, life skills and issue-based topics including sexual health, drugs, alcohol, mental health and wellbeing, bullying, online safety and so forth. We operate within the Teviot and Liddesdale area of the Scottish Borders which is a rural area with poor transport links, lack of services and access, and suffers from low wages (20% of the areas children come from low-income families). Of the 22 datazones across the area, 6 are within the lowest 25% of the most deprived areas in Scotland. Through our ongoing work with young people and partner organisations we are aware of the increased number of young people from these areas accessing our service who are in care, young people with additional support needs (autism, ADHD, learning difficulties and disabilities; increased number of young people working with specialist support services, young carers, and families where one or both parents are unemployed due to ill-health or addiction. We are also aware of the number of young people with low school attendance or attainment, involved in anti-social or risk-taking behaviours and are not involved in any other activities within the community. Through our drop-in provision we aim to: Develop resilience through increased self-awareness, confidence and self-esteem; Increase personal, social, life and leadership skills through participation, volunteering and accreditation; Improve citizenship through increased involvement in decision making and community life. We also aim is to continue to develop our on-site allotment, working with young people, staff and volunteers to prepare the site, grow produce and utilise these ingredients in cooking sessions and establish a monthly community lunch club. Gardening activities will be built into existing drop-in sessions and school holiday programmes (April, Summer, Oct), developing knowledge and understanding, skills and confidence.

Burnfoot Grows Together will build a Community Garden within the Burnfoot Hub property and support other gardens at Escape Youth Café and Salvation Army. By encouraging and supporting local residents to grow their own we will create more local food sources and will indirectly aim to address food insecurity. Project staff will monitor feedback and link with NHS borders in the formulation of evaluation methodology and research. Within our food sessions we aim to look at food miles and with the encouragement and behaviour change promoted through the cooking of local seasonal produce this will naturally lead to a reduction of food miles. We will look at baselining this at the beginning of the sessions and following completion.

Youth Centre for Young People of Selkirk, to provide a safe space to meet and share concerns whilst building teamwork and confidence to be able to contribute towards the community. We also run a breakfast club ensuring that all young people can start their day in a positive, healthy way.