Granite City Speaks Recognised In The Scottish Parliament
Aberdeen children’s charity Denis Law Legacy Trust was awarded a £90,000 cash boost from Young Start to tackle youth anti-social behaviour in deprived areas.
Fourteen Scottish groups are celebrating a total cash boost of £1,245,594 from the Young Start fund, distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund.
Denis Law Legacy Trust receives £90,000 to continue its Granite City Speaks programme – a youth forum set up to amplify the voices of participants from their Streetsport programme which delivers free sports and creative activity sessions to young people in deprived areas across Aberdeen, and areas of high youth annoyance. The forum meets at the Robert Gordon University and works closely with the Denis Law Legacy Trust team.
The funding was recognised in the Scottish Parliament in a motion submitted by Kevin Stewart MSP which received cross-party support.
Lewis Bell is 15 years old and lives in Kincorth. He volunteers in Torry, one of Aberdeen’s most deprived areas. He started volunteering with Streetsport two years ago, supporting other children and young people in the area, and last year he became part of the Granite City Speaks project, and through the youth forum he currently sits on the advisory board, the highest level of the charity.
Lewis said: “My role within Granite City Speaks is basically to take to needs, opinions and voices of the Streetsport participants and get them heard by people who can make real, positive, impactful change.”
Through volunteering, Lewis has seen first-hand the need for improvement in the facilities available to young people in order to reduce the instances of youth annoyance and anti-social behaviour complaints:
“When there’s nothing for kids and young people to do, often their energy comes out as something negative, and that’s when loitering, vandalism and even violence happens. Streetsport offers week-nightly activities and reasons for young people to turn their energy into something positive and productive.”
In 2019, Denis Law Legacy Trust opened a brand-new Cruyff Court, a free to access, floodlit, multi-sport pitch, in Torry with the aim to remove barriers to sport and activity for the community. Since then, anti-social behaviour in the area has been slashed by 50% and where the area once topped anti-social behavioural charts – it is now 6th.
“I love what I do at Granite City Speaks because I know I’m helping people and helping to influence change. The area I work in, Torry, has been improved massively by the new pitch, and I know we can bring about even more positive change by amplifying the voices of the young people who live in these areas. It’s empowering to know I’ve played a part in that change.”
Hannah Clews, Streetsport Development Manager said: “The formation of Granite City Speaks was born out us wanting to ensure the young people who attend our Streetsport programmes are listened to more in the city they grow up in.”
“Many of them come to us with problems or concerns and we want them to have the ability to amplify their voices so that they themselves are heard, rather than having to rely on others to represent them indirectly.”
Another young person who volunteers with Granite City speaks is 15-year-old Chloe Hunter.
“I started volunteering about a year ago as part of my Duke of Edinburgh award, but decided to continue once the required period was over, as I was enjoying being part of the group so much.”
Like Lewis, Chloe says the main reason she loves working with the project is the joy she gets from helping other people:
“There’s something so powerful about knowing you’re making a difference in a community and helping to provide a safe space for young people who might not have had the best opportunities. I haven’t experienced life living in a deprived area, so it’s eye-opening to see the disparity in the kind of life some people are born into compared to others, based on your postcode.”
Chloe’s experience volunteering with Denis Law Legacy Trust over the last year has even made her reconsider her future career path:
“I was pretty set on the idea that I wanted to go to uni to do finance and accountancy, but since becoming involved in the project, I’m really steering toward a career in a community or charity led organisation. Helping other people and making a difference to other people’s lives has had such an impact on me that I now can’t imagine a more rewarding future.”
Mark Williams, Chief Operating Officer at the Denis Law Legacy Trust says “As a children’s charity, it is important to have a youth voice at the heart of our operations and the new additional Young Start funding boost means we’ll be able to continue the work of Granite City Speaks and help even more young people.”
Announcing today’s funding, The National Lottery Community Fund, Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “Young Start is all about young people playing a pivotal role in shaping their future and projects like Granite City Speaks really embodies that vision. Both Lewis and Chloe are brilliant examples of young people using their voices to improve their local communities and the lives of other young people.
“We are always keen to support projects that put Scotland’s young people at the heart of the development and running of services. If your group has an idea how you would make this happen, then we’d love to hear from you.”
You can view the motion from Scottish Parliament below or online here.
Young Start helps young people aged eight to 24 become more confident and play an active part in realising their potential. Find out more at: https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/programmes/young-start
To find out more about Granite City Speaks and the work of its members visit: Granite City Speaks — Denis Law Legacy Trust