Youth zone boss makes pledge for future as centre relaunches

Some sessions at the youth zone in School Street, Wolverhampton, have been suspended for the last 10 weeks due to a staffing shortage blamed on the pandemic.

New CEO Jackie Redding said she was determined to build a "settled" team and bring in new funding – two elements she described as "crucial" to making The Way a success.

She has appealed to businesses and individuals to come forward and support the OnSide-backed youth zone, which was founded by former Wolves owner Steve Morgan and costs around £1.5 million a year to run.

"Everybody is fighting for funding and we've got to make sure this is the place of choice," she said.

"Our message is that if we get this right then it benefits the whole of Wolverhampton, so it's a really good thing to invest in because you're investing in the future and hopefully reducing youth crime.

"If anybody – be it businesses or an individual – is interested in becoming part of The Way's future we want them to come and talk to us.

"We are also happy to talk to companies who perhaps want to get their staff to do some volunteering. It's a two way relationship."

Ms Redding, from Birmingham, said the future of the centre was secure as it had "the right amount of charitable reserves" in place.

She said the decision to suspend sessions had nothing to do with money and was "down to staffing ratios which is almost exclusively down to the impact of the pandemic".

She said one of her top priorities was to install a settled staffing team at the centre, which has been hit by a high number of departures over the past two years.

In recent weeks a new head of youth work, Rebecca Bunger, has been appointed and a new fundraising lead is also on board.

According to Ms Redding recruitment is now "on track" – meaning parents and youngsters can look forward to some evening and weekend drop in sessions restarting in mid-July.

She said: "We are definitely getting there. We've got lots of vacancies that we have filled, and we still have some vacancies for sure.

"The Way wasn't immune to the impact of Covid and you can see with the situation at the airports that people [in many sectors] are struggling to recruit.

"But we are getting people in and there are going to be some youth work vacancies advertised over the next few weeks, so whether its experienced or an aspiring youth worker we want people to apply for those jobs.

"It is not easy to get good staff so we have got to ensure that people want to stay here and work. We absolutely have to look after them and that's our intention.

"Certainly in the last two years there has been so much upheaval. People have re-thought their work-life balance and that's had an impact.

"We want people to come, but we really want them to stay."

She said bringing in the right staff – particularly specialists – would help The Way attract more young people through its doors once drop-in sessions restart.

"We want people to see The Way as a great place to work," Ms Redding said. "If we can get the right staff, then we can get everything open and people will come.

"They'll have a good experience, tell their friends and then more people will want to work here.

"We want to build a motivated staff team that are excited about what they do."

Ms Redding said the YMCA and Wolves Foundation, which have been running activities at The Way since drop in sessions were suspended, would remain on site until September.

She said a gradual reopening of sessions had been targeted. From next month four open access sessions a week are set to run, building up to 20 activities as new staff are taken on and trained.

"By the time we head to the end of the year we should be back up as a seven-day offer," she said.

"The most important thing is that we have got sufficient staffing ratio to ensure the children here have a really good experience of being at The Way."

Ms Redding says she is dedicated to improving the lives of young people.

Prior to her arrival at The Way she spent 16 years at Terrence Higgins Trust. She also worked with homeless young people before moving on to Brook, a charity focusing on young people's sexual health and wellbeing.

She currently sits as a youth court magistrate and is on Birmingham's youth panel; chairs Home-Start Birmingham North West and is a trustee and safeguarding lead at Birmingham PHAB Camps.

She insists The Way can play a major role in the "early intervention" necessary to prevent young people from being drawn into crime.

She says that while having one centralised youth centre may not be ideal for people based away from the city centre, she’s determined to ensure that as many youngsters as possible can access the facility.

"You can't create this on every single small area across Wolverhampton," says Ms Redding.

"Your choice is having small youth groups with limited resources, or a big main site that is not round the corner for everyone.

"I think having this range of activities in a building like this is the best that we can hope for. Our job is to make sure everyone has the opportunity to come here."

And what can people expect from The Way once it's fully reopened?

"People can expect high quality activities and support from skilled and confident staff," she says.

"This isn't school and young people don't have to come, so we need to make it really great fun for them."

Visit thewayyouthzone.org.