Cumbria trust to focus on youngsters in poverty

Brathay Trust’s new Focus on Furness initiative will reach out to those living in Barrow and the surrounding areas and aim to equip them with the skills, attitudes and confidence they need to progress. 

According to the Ambleside-based national charity, young people living in its local areas face particular challenges, with 20.4 per cent of children in Barrow living in poverty. This is the highest rate in Cumbria and above the national level of 18.6 per cent for England, Brathay revealed, and can rise to 48.4 per cent in some areas of the district. 

Sarah Thompson, Brathay Trust’s fundraising and volunteer coordinator, said: “We’re aware that this is an area of deprivation that’s right on our doorstep and it makes sense for us to be able to make a difference to the people who live here.” 

Focus on Furness will involve work with with vulnerable or disadvantaged young people, particularly girls, to build the confidence and self-awareness they need to stay safe and have healthy relationships in the future. The project will also target those living in care or who are on the verge of entering the care system due to unstable or difficult family lives, inspiring them towards finding employment and living independently. 

According to Brathay, the number of children and young people in care in Cumbria has risen disproportionately compared to a national rise. In Barrow, the charity said, the number of children in care increased by 34 per cent between 2010 and 2015. 

The Focus on Furness project is fast coming together, with project manager Jacqui Wallace and project workers Helen Lawrie and Farina Harris having already found a base in Barrow. 

Meanwhile work is ongoing to fund the scheme, which will receive a huge boost from the 2016 Brathay Windermere Marathon 10in10challenge. Next year’s 10in10 runners, Ulverston’s Paul Dewar and Barrow’s Sonja Foster, will raise sponsorship in support of Focus in Furness through their incredible efforts to complete ten marathons in as many consecutive days next May. 

Miss Thompson said: “They’re undertaking an immense physical challenge and, as a direct result of that, there will be young people’s lives who are changed. 

“It becomes more tangible when those young people are from the same place. I think it makes the experience, for them and for us, extra special.”

Young people supported by Brathay Trust have shared their stories to encourage support for the charity. *Their names have been changed to protect their identities.

Tyrone* 

Tyrone became his Mum’s carer when he was eight years old and at 13 was taken into care. 

Brathay staff met him when he joined the charity’s Going Places programme, which raised educational attainment for young people in care. 

He said, “I had a problem with adults telling me what to do. I was very angry.” 

After Going Places , Tyrone left school and joined the National Citizen Service run in his area by Brathay. He made friends, became more independent and started volunteering. 

After the programme finished, his NCS group continued to meet, with Brathay supporting them to fundraise and organise community events. 

Tyrone said: “The youth workers at Brathay don’t tell you, they ask you; they don’t talk at you, they are with you.” 

Brathay staff have now known Tyrone for five years. He is 18, has his own place to live and is working for the charity part-time to support other young people. He is also at college and hopes to go to university. 

He said: “Brathay staff support you but they ask you to take responsibility. The biggest thing I’ve gained from them is confidence.”

Alex* 

After a difficult childhood, Alex was living with a foster carer and left school when he was 16. 

He said: “I didn’t do too well at school and then when I left didn’t want to do college. I ended up not doing much in the day. I become a bit lazy and didn’t see a future”. 

Alex’s confidence was low and he didn’t have the skills that an employer would need. His foster carer had offered him the chance to stay on in his foster home on the condition that he started an apprenticeship, so getting into employment was crucial to keeping a roof over his head. 

To increase his chance of getting work, Alex joined Brathay’s Get Real programme for care leavers. The programme focused on personal development and linked this to employment skills, and over the ten week course Alex became a vital member of the team and his confidence grew. 

At the end of the programme there was a six-week work placement with an opportunity to progress onto an apprenticeship at the end. Alex’s placement was at a warehousing company. His employer was impressed with his hard work and Alex successfully progressed onto an apprenticeship. 

Since becoming a Get Real graduate, Alex has volunteered to come back and speak to other groups, something that he would never have had the confidence to do before the programme. By securing an apprenticeship he also stabilised his living arrangements and can plan for his future. 

Alex said: “The Get Real programme really changed things for me. It meant I had something to look forward to and knew that if I tried hard there would be something at the end of it. 

“I met new people and did loads of stuff that I didn’t think I could do. I’d recommend anyone to do it if they get chance.”

Billy* 

This story is from Mike Hargreaves, Brathay Associate Trainer, who worked on the New Beginnings programme with Cumbrian care leavers.  

“It was a weekend residential with only three boys from the project. One boy, Billy, a great kid with bags of charm, had never been anywhere like the Copper Mines before. In fact, he’d never really been anywhere other than Barrow. 

“You knew, just looking at him, that life was hard. He lived on his own, fending for himself and just about keeping threats to his stability at arms’ length. He wanted his life to be different… 

“This was our chance to give him the breathing space to think about how it could be. We hired the mountain hut to stay over Friday and Saturday night. It was winter and bitterly cold. We were surrounded by water turned into ice. Literally everywhere; there was snow on the ground, icicles hanging from trees, waterfalls, hung almost motionless, frozen in time; ice crystals sparkled and frost covered the hut like a blanket. The sky was blue and the air was fresh and crisp. It was a winter wonderland.

“After a night getting to know each other, we had no plans for Saturday. We spent the day walking around the mines, playing snowballs, hide and seek, building snowmen, trying to find fools’ gold, interacting with nature. The sort of day any kid would find inspiring, and a world away from Barrow. 

“That night, Billy sat down and made a list of goals and plans for the future. Whether he achieved them or not, seeing life through a different lens was an important starting point for the rest of his life. 

“It was a very special day indeed, for everyone.” 

Since New Beginnings, Billy has moved to a new area; away from the poverty, instability and people who threatened his safety. He has had his own new beginning.

Minibreak up for grabs for generous sponsors

SPONSORS who support those raising vital funds for Brathay Trust’s Focus on Furness project will be in with the chance of winning a dream minibreak. 

Those who make a donation on either runner’s JustGiving page any time during December will be entered into a prize draw for two nights’ bed and breakfast at the charity’s idyllic base on the shores of Windermere. 

Anyone who wants to be in with a chance to win the break, to be taken any time before March 2017, must leave their name on their donation and should include the reference “NWEM” in the comments section.

Click here to support Paul Dewar or here to support Sonja Foster. Full profiles of both runners  are also provided here on the Evening Mail website.