Young people on Taunton estate urge local council not to forget about them
News provided by Fixers on Tuesday 5th Feb 2013
Young people who are appealing to their local council to provide a drop-in service on a Taunton housing estate will be featured on ITV News West Country on Thursday, February 7, from 6pm.
Young people living on one of the most deprived estates in England are stepping out of the shadows to make a difference - and get help.
Working as ‘Fixers’, Jayden Neville-Moore and Jonathon Monger, both 21, have made a documentary to highlight the need for a drop-in centre on the Halcon Estate in Taunton.
Fixers is a movement of 16 to 25-year-olds across the UK who are supported to take action and change things for the better, addressing any issue they feel strongly about. How each Fixer tackles an issue is up to them – as long as they benefit someone else.
Jayden and Jonathon are appealing to Taunton Deane Borough Council to provide a space on the estate – which is officially amongst England’s 5% most deprived areas - where a drop-in service for 18 to 25 year-olds can be held.
The Fixers say there are currently no facilities for young people on the estate, and so many lack motivation to improve their future prospects.
They believe a drop-in service would help young people to seek advice on job-hunting and personal development, as well as providing them with somewhere to go.
“The bad reputation of the estate makes us all look the same, and we’re not,” said Jayden, who lives on the Halcon Estate.
“It annoys me because I don’t like to be labelled. I don’t like to be associated with people who can’t be bothered. I want to make something of my life.”
Jonathon Monger, who is helping Jayden with his Fixers project, said: “We’d like the whole perception of Halcon to be changed in the sense that people could look at it in the future and say this is a place where people are doing something to help their own lives.”
Planning to use their Fixers documentary to lobby their local council and funding bodies to fund a young people’s drop-in centre, Jayden and Jonathon also hope it will inspire young residents to achieve their goals.
Fixers are young people who give their time to make a difference in their communities.
Each Fixer is supported to create the resources they need to make their chosen project a success, with creative help from media professionals to make their own promotional material, such as films, websites or print work.
Fixers is a project of the Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT), funded by the Big Lottery Fund which awarded them £7.2 million in April 2012.
“Fixers started in 2008 as just an idea… an idea given a voice by some 5,500 young people over the past four years,” says Margo Horsley, Chief Executive of PSBT.
“They have reached thousands of people with their work, on a national stage as well as in and around where they live. They choose the full array of social and health issues facing society today and set about making their mark. Their ideas can be challenging, inspirational and often life-changing.”
Peter Ainsworth, Big Lottery Fund UK Chair, said: “The Big Lottery Fund is extremely happy to be supporting Fixers to engage with more young people to change things for the better. Thousands of public-spirited young people across the UK are campaigning to make improvements in their own communities. By providing a platform to highlight their voluntary work and many achievements, Fixers demonstrates the positive contribution thousands of committed young people are making at a local level and challenges negative stereotypes.”
Photo attached. Picture caption:
Fixers Jayden Neville-Moore and Jonathon Monger (L-R).
For images, interviews and more information, please contact Sarah Jones in the Fixers Communications Team by email sarahj@fixers.org.uk or phone 01962 810970.
Notes to editors:
• Fixers is a project of the Public Service Broadcasting Trust, funded by the Big Lottery Fund, and featured on ITV regional news programmes. Since 2008 more than 6,500 young people in England have become Fixers and created some 800 projects. Their achievements have been highlighted in over 300 ITV features. Now with a £7.2 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund, Fixers is extending into Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, and aims to work with 21,000 young people over the next four years.
• The Public Service Broadcasting Trust is a charity that brings together mainstream broadcasters, public and voluntary sector services, and viewers.
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £29 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
There are lots more stories about young people doing great things on our website, Twitter and Facebook pages:
www.fixers.org.uk
www.twitter.com/FixersUK
www.facebook.com/FixersUK
Young people living on one of the most deprived estates in England are stepping out of the shadows to make a difference - and get help.
Working as ‘Fixers’, Jayden Neville-Moore and Jonathon Monger, both 21, have made a documentary to highlight the need for a drop-in centre on the Halcon Estate in Taunton.
Fixers is a movement of 16 to 25-year-olds across the UK who are supported to take action and change things for the better, addressing any issue they feel strongly about. How each Fixer tackles an issue is up to them – as long as they benefit someone else.
Jayden and Jonathon are appealing to Taunton Deane Borough Council to provide a space on the estate – which is officially amongst England’s 5% most deprived areas - where a drop-in service for 18 to 25 year-olds can be held.
The Fixers say there are currently no facilities for young people on the estate, and so many lack motivation to improve their future prospects.
They believe a drop-in service would help young people to seek advice on job-hunting and personal development, as well as providing them with somewhere to go.
“The bad reputation of the estate makes us all look the same, and we’re not,” said Jayden, who lives on the Halcon Estate.
“It annoys me because I don’t like to be labelled. I don’t like to be associated with people who can’t be bothered. I want to make something of my life.”
Jonathon Monger, who is helping Jayden with his Fixers project, said: “We’d like the whole perception of Halcon to be changed in the sense that people could look at it in the future and say this is a place where people are doing something to help their own lives.”
Planning to use their Fixers documentary to lobby their local council and funding bodies to fund a young people’s drop-in centre, Jayden and Jonathon also hope it will inspire young residents to achieve their goals.
Fixers are young people who give their time to make a difference in their communities.
Each Fixer is supported to create the resources they need to make their chosen project a success, with creative help from media professionals to make their own promotional material, such as films, websites or print work.
Fixers is a project of the Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT), funded by the Big Lottery Fund which awarded them £7.2 million in April 2012.
“Fixers started in 2008 as just an idea… an idea given a voice by some 5,500 young people over the past four years,” says Margo Horsley, Chief Executive of PSBT.
“They have reached thousands of people with their work, on a national stage as well as in and around where they live. They choose the full array of social and health issues facing society today and set about making their mark. Their ideas can be challenging, inspirational and often life-changing.”
Peter Ainsworth, Big Lottery Fund UK Chair, said: “The Big Lottery Fund is extremely happy to be supporting Fixers to engage with more young people to change things for the better. Thousands of public-spirited young people across the UK are campaigning to make improvements in their own communities. By providing a platform to highlight their voluntary work and many achievements, Fixers demonstrates the positive contribution thousands of committed young people are making at a local level and challenges negative stereotypes.”
Photo attached. Picture caption:
Fixers Jayden Neville-Moore and Jonathon Monger (L-R).
For images, interviews and more information, please contact Sarah Jones in the Fixers Communications Team by email sarahj@fixers.org.uk or phone 01962 810970.
Notes to editors:
• Fixers is a project of the Public Service Broadcasting Trust, funded by the Big Lottery Fund, and featured on ITV regional news programmes. Since 2008 more than 6,500 young people in England have become Fixers and created some 800 projects. Their achievements have been highlighted in over 300 ITV features. Now with a £7.2 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund, Fixers is extending into Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, and aims to work with 21,000 young people over the next four years.
• The Public Service Broadcasting Trust is a charity that brings together mainstream broadcasters, public and voluntary sector services, and viewers.
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £29 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
There are lots more stories about young people doing great things on our website, Twitter and Facebook pages:
www.fixers.org.uk
www.twitter.com/FixersUK
www.facebook.com/FixersUK
Press release distributed by Pressat on behalf of Fixers, on Tuesday 5 February, 2013. For more information subscribe and follow https://pressat.co.uk/
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Young people on Taunton estate urge local council not to forget about them
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