WE SHINE BRIGHT TOGETHER
Power Groups are groups for care experienced young people, created and led by care experienced young people. They start when we listen to our young people telling us about what they think needs to change or what they wish had been available for them when they were younger.
The leader of each group is then supported to do some research into their idea, to develop some ideas, to test their idea to see what works and then to start running a group. We know that nothing is ever perfect and we understand that change is the only constant, therefore we will never stop reflecting on how these groups are going. We will keep talking to the people who attend and work reflectively with the people who run them to keep testing, learning and tweaking what we do.
VIBES IN THA KITCHEN
Brand new exciting cookery workshops created to support your journey to independence.
All members receive a welcome pack and all equipment and ingredients will be provided. At each session the group will be taught by a professional chief and members will be given the given the opportunity to take notes ask questions and get hands on in a large kitchen.
Attending Eat club you will;
Learn how to cook / bake bread
Learn how to cook healthy meals on a low budget
Meet new people and have fun
Therapart
Therapart is a playful, creative and informal space to give young people who are looked after to have an opportunity to express themselves and ease their minds. This group was created by someone who understands that it can feel difficult to talk to a therapist; he wanted to create a place where people can relax and see what happens when they paint or draw.
At the beginning of each session the group will be given the opportunity to describe how they are feeling, using a number between one and ten. They will then be encouraged to explore this feeling when taking part in the creative activity that is planned each week.
At the end of the session, participants who would like to, are invited to talk about the feelings that each piece of work evokes. The creator will also have the opportunity to discuss what inspired them. The session will close with each group member having the opportunity to describe how they are feeling (using a number between one and ten) as they leave.
Participants are welcome to take to their work with them or leave it with us.
Parent Power
This group is for care experienced young people who are or are becoming parents. It was created by someone who feels that there is an unacceptable stigma around people who have been in care as parents. She is also very aware that more needs to be done to provide the kind of support that young parents need.
When developing this group we discovered that there are a number of barriers to care experienced parents engaging with support that is offered which includes a lack of trust of services. Many of our parents have told us that they wish they could receive additional guidance and advice from informal networks of people who understand their experience first-hand.
This group meets to provide a social and supportive space with frequent opportunities to hang out and celebrate occasions throughout the year. There is also significant opportunity for parents joining this space to contribute to our work to change the system for parents and children in future. For example, our first great success has been the introduction of a Baby Box for all care leaving parents in Brent. This was designed and championed by parents with lived expertise of help which is necessary, helpful and loving from a corporate parent (the local authority) following the birth of a child.