Stratford Youth Hub with youth at its heart gets its official opening
STRATFORD’S new Youth Hub was given its official opening on Friday (26th April) at an event that was produced by the very same young people who use its fabulous new facilities and help manage it.
The building on Birmingham Road – a few doors along from the One Elm – has gone from a vacant property to a long-awaited home for the town’s youth club, with facilities for music and art as well as games and chill-out spaces, support and mentoring.
It’s seen as a one-stop shop where young people can have fun, put on shows, meet each other and get support and access to services.
It’s run by the Stratford Youth Collective charity, a partnership of Escape Arts, Lifespace Trust, New Meaning Training, ILEAP and Warwickshire Pride with Stratford Town Trust supporting the project financially through a three-year commitment.
However, this was not adults making decisions; the partnership involved the young people of Stratford and continues to do so as half of the board of trustees are young people aged 16-25 years. It’s also taken the support of lots of other organisations, businesses and people from across the town to get the hub up, running and accessible. That was what was celebrated on Friday.
Rob Langley-Swain, chair of trustees for the charity, told the packed hub hall that his speech was essentially a very long list of thank-yous. That included the building’s landlord who agreed a 15-year lease and Jed McCrory, chairman of Stratford Town Football Club, for not only helping with contractors but also for being the guarantor on the building before Stratford Youth Collective had its charity status.
“There has been so much work that has gone on behind the scenes to make this building a perfect space for our young people,” said Rob. “We couldn’t have got here without the determination and dedication of the team of people who make up this groundbreaking collaboration of five prominent local organisations and funding support from Stratford Town Trust.”
He added: “We are grateful to all businesses, funders and individuals that have helped us so far, too many to mention individually, but the enthusiasm and warmth that people have shown for this new charity has been overwhelming and we hope that support can continue long into the future.”
Jess, one of four trustees who organised the evening, also spoke at the event, looking back at the early days of the youth club at the former H&M building in Bell Court and the impact the service – the people who ran it – had on her life and the opportunities it gave her.
“It’s been such a long journey to get where we are now,” she said. “When I was coming up to the age of 18, I was faced with the reality that one day I would have to leave the youth club as I would be considered an adult. I couldn’t leave without knowing I had given back something to the people that have changed me, so I became a trustee to help provide what I have already been given – 100 times bigger and 100 times better.”
Karen Williams, CEO of Escape Arts, was also praised for her unswerving commitment to getting a permanent home for a Stratford youth club, along with the town trust for backing the project.
Sara Aspley, CEO, Stratford Town Trust, said: “It is fantastic to see all of the ideas generated by the young people and their hard work over the last two years come to fruition.
“It is not just about this tremendous building which now provides a safe, inclusive and welcoming space for every young person in Stratford, but the collaborative model adopted by the collective allows for deeper relationships, knowledge sharing, and a more effective allocation of resources that includes mentoring, accessible youth programmes, alternative education provision and LGBTQ+ services too.”
Stratford mayor Cllr Kate Rolfe has also supported the charity for the past 12 months.
Find out more about the hub at www.stratfordyouth.org.
