'It just feels like home': Decade of fun and learning for staff and children at Wolverhampton youth centre as they talk about what the Way means to them
As an important anniversary is set to be celebrated by a Wolverhampton Youth Centre which has become a place to play, to learn, to make friends and to grow as people.
The Way Youth Zone is celebrating its 10th anniversary since opening on School Street in Wolverhampton city centre in January 2016, having provided its services to more than 17,500 young people in that time.
The philosophy of The Way is to offer somewhere safe to go, something fun to do and someone trusted to talk to after school every evening and then welcome the wider community into the Youth Zone on Saturdays, running themed activities for families with young people of all ages and abilities.
It has survived Covid-19 lockdowns and the cost of living crisis and remains a safe space for young people to learn new skills and also enjoy a free meal on each visit.
For those who have been there for the duration as staff members, joined the centre along the way or simply come to use the centre, the 10th anniversary has been a time to look back at what makes The Way special to them and why they continue to come back.
Sarah Cornaby has been part of the centre since it opened and currently works as receptionist and Data lead.
She said she had seen the changes in personnel over the years, but had always found the centre to be a welcoming and friendly place for young people.
She said: "It's changed quite a lot and we've had a lot of staff changes, but the young people have grown and developed and we've had a lot more activities, plus I think we're getting out there a lot more as we're getting into a lot more schools and family hubs and just more into the community.
"10 years ago, the feeling was that all the youth centres had been closed down and people were asking why they'd all been closed down to build one centre, but that feeling quickly disappeared and I think people have enjoyed being here.
"I feel that I've developed into a different person since coming here as I'm more outgoing and watching these young people thrive and become themselves builds you up and has helped me on reception to be that point of contact and help to build confidence for everyone from children to parents.
"Places like this are needed and I think it will be here for quite a long time."
The Way has a range of facilities for children aged from eight to 18-years-old and up to 25 with additional needs, from pool tables to a fully functioning gym, climbing walls, music room, kitchen, art room and a sensory room, and every young person who uses the centre has found themselves an area they have found they love the most.
The kitchen and art rooms have been the favourite places for 13-year-old Isis, who said: "I first heard about The Way from a friend in primary school and my mum brought me down here on a Saturday and I thought it was really cool.
"I like the kitchen and art as I think I've learnt some great skills and more ways to express my self, plus I can talk to friends about school life and The Way helps me not get bored at home and enjoy time with my friends."
The gym has a lot of modern and multi-functional equipment and is used by the likes of 12-year-old Daniel, who said: "I'd previously heard about the centre from friends and family, who said it would help to improve my social life, so I decided to come down and give it a try and, ever since then, I've become more active and social and spoken to more people about how my health and well-being matters.
"I like everything about the place, from the staff who have helped me to get fitter to how it has helped me to improve my mental health and give me new energy and restored my happiness, and places like this are so important for young people as they just help them to develop as people."
The climbing wall is one of the more unique places for youngsters to learn skills, with 14-year-old Ryan saying it was the best part of the centre for him.
He said: "I heard about The Way because my mates used to come here and they were telling me to come to see it as it was near my house, so I came for a taster day to see what would happen and I've been here ever since.
"I liked the rock climbing wall as I'd never tried it before and I wanted to get into it as I've been seeing videos on social media, so they told me about the wall here and I've loved it.
"I had some nerves to begin with when I first came here as it was a new place and all that, but now, it just feels like home to me."
The young people who use the Way have had a dedicated group of volunteers and staff members to learn from and talk to about life and the centre, with head of youth development Rebecca Bunger having been part of the centre for four years.
She said she had applied for a different role at the centre before then being told to apply for head of youth development, due to being better suited to the role, and she spoke about how The Way had changed over her time there.
She said: "There's been a lot of change as we've done a lot of multi-agency work to increase our safeguarding capacity, which has been really beneficial, and we've focused a lot with our young people, trying to meet their needs as best as we can.
"We've also changed our sessions around to find out what works best, then we've launched our in-betweener sessions to capture those age groups really well, so I think the biggest thing that changes is meeting the needs of the young people as our programme has to remain dynamic to meet their needs.
"We see some really good things from the young people who come here as we see an increase in confidence, increase in social skills, they feel better about themselves and that's a massive impact for us and this has been my favourite job that I have had."
