Youth Centre

Granton Youth Centre is a purpose built youth centre for 11-25 year olds located on West Granton Road with charitable status. The Centre was designed in consultation with local young people who had a real say in how the building was refurbished. Opened in early 2003, the centre has attracted a growing number of young people to take part in its activities and benefit from the wide range of services on offer.
The Centre provides community based support for young people in Edinburgh. We offer a variety of age specific groups that do a number of fun activities. We also do gender specific work with both boys and girls. There are often a number of projects that young people can get involved in that aim to develop skills, confidence and self-esteem. In addition to a full activity programme for young people, The Centre uses group work to explore relevant issues such as drugs and alcohol, self-esteem, sexual health, bullying, community safety and a range of other issues identified by young people that concern them.
Granton Youth Centre provides specific services for young people that include; counselling and employability work, volunteering and peer education, as well as schools based services for the local community.

Parents, professionals and young people are welcome to visit us at the Centre and have a look around.

Who We Are

Granton Youth Centre consists of a small core staff team, a sessional staff team, and a group of young volunteers.  Granton Youth Centre Ltd, the parent company of GYC, North Edinburgh Street-work and the Employability Unit is ultimately managed by a Board of Directors made up of local people and partner agencies.  Because the community which is serviced by GYC is so diverse, the team delivering the service is made up of all sorts of different people with different skills, experience and backgrounds.

What We Think

Granton Youth Centre is a progressive, dynamic, creative organisation that likes to try out new approaches in the course of delivering its youth work services. There are no problems, only solutions. There is no one-size-fits-all service for young people, only mixed, measured responses that take into account needs, wants, and individual and community aspirations.

Many influential thinkers have influenced our “direction of travel”, Carol Dweck’s Mindset, Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone, Wilkinson’s The Spirit Level, Carol Craig’s Scots Crisis of Confidence to name only a few.  Individual staff and a large number of young people have had input with their wonderfully creative suggestions for services or projects which tackle the issues being faced on a daily basis by the community of young people. We hope that we will continue to develop our thinking in an understanding and imaginative way that will challenge ourselves as an organisation, challenge young people to develop and grow, and challenge external negative perceptions of young people.

For more information about Granton Youth Centre’s operational and strategic direction please contact Vicki Ridley by emailing Vicki@grantonyouth.com.

Where We Are

Granton Youth Centre is located at 3-11 West Granton Road, just off Granton Square and opposite the marina.

GYC believes that project work can really benefit young people by giving a focus to their involvement and engaging them in a range of different styles of youth work.

Graffiti Project

Every summer we have run a successful graffiti project for young people to direct their artistic energies creatively and legitimately!  Evidence of these projects can be found all around the Centre’s grounds and inside on our display boards.

Garden Project

Working in partnership with a variety of environmental partners including British Conservation Trust Volunteers and The Green Team, GYC has embarked on several local projects designing the grounds and creating their vision of a garden for the Centre which can be used by all local young people day or night as a safe youth zone.

Forum Theatre

Following on form our own successful theatre production in 2009, North West Side Story, GYC is developing its reputation as a centre dedicated to opening up the dramatic arts for young people to either perform, write or help produce/direct.  The latest staging in 2010 of a style of theatre known as “forum theatre” where young people get to decide form the audience what direction a play might take by suggesting the actions of the players is talking place under the title of Split//Second.

Art Exhibitions

GYC has displayed its photography in a number of diverse venues, including Out of the Blue, The Citadel Youth Centre, North Edinburgh Arts and The Western General Hospital.  Currently the Crossing the Lines digital gallery and DVD produced by young people from North Edinburgh about the subject of territorialism is on display in Berlin.

Empowerment and Participation

Central to the ethos of GYC is the empowerment of young people.  We feel strongly that young people should have a real say in the services that are on offer not only at GYC but also throughout the area and Edinburgh. 
Our Empowerment and Participation Think Tank has been set up to work with young people to develop their skills and confidence to participate in democratic structures, such as GYC’s Board, the North Edinburgh Youth Forum, and the Scottish Youth Parliament.  The Think Tank is made up of our young staff members who are currently studying at Edinburgh University.  Their ultimate goal is to produce a Participation Strategy for the whole organisation.
If there is an issue that affects young people or a local issue that young people feel strongly about, they are encouraged through support and groupwork to develop their ideas for campaigns and lobbying.  The young people of today are the adults of tomorrow, and we believe in getting them ready for the world in which they will live.

Street-Work

GYC believes there is a huge role for street-work in North Edinburgh, especially given that vast numbers of young people either do not actively engage with the services in the area.  North Edinburgh Street-work Initiative is part of the Granton Youth Centre Ltd. franchise. 
Find out more here.

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Granton Youth Centre offers a range of services designed to reduce harm to young people and maximise their potential to take part in the educational and recreational activities as part of the centre’s everyday programme.

12-15 Individual Support Work

Any young person in the area can work individually with a Youth Worker instead of or as well as attending a group. This can take the form of a one-off consultation of it could be crisis intervention work.

Counselling

GYC can make a limited number of appointments to see our trained counsellor.  The service is on-site and takes place on a Tuesday afternoon until early evening or at a time and place to suit.  The service is available to over 15s only.

Employability Unit

GYC has a dedicated Employabilty Unit staffed by two experienced workers, whose role is to offer individual support and Groupwork for young people who may have difficulty finding or keeping a job.
GYC holds courses aimed at older young people (15-25) who may need extra help in getting and keeping a job. The courses, better known as “Getting Yer Heid Together” have been running successfully for the past 6 years and have helped over 150 young people find work.  Support is also available for the issues that can affect young people’s likelihood of finding employment and the EU has good links with drugs agencies that can offer on-site one to one support.
If you want to contact staff at the Employability Unit then please contact either Jamie or Tracey by emailing Jamie@grantonyouth.com or tracey@grantonyouth.com

C-Card Plus

C-Card is a free and confidential service, providing free condoms, advice and information for people aged 13 and over

• We don’t need your name and address. All you will be asked for is your date of birth and the first part of your postcode. This information is confidential and you cannot be traced from it.
• You can be seen in a private space by a youth worker who will chat to you, show you how to put on a condom and offer you information about safer sex.
• You will get a purple C-card if you are under 16 with your own personal number on it. If you are over 16 your C-card will be silver.
• The youth worker will show you all the condoms in the C-card range and help you choose the most appropriate ones.

Remember that C-card is confidential. This means we won’t tell your parents or guardians, anyone at school, or anyone else that you are using C-card unless we think someone might be harming you.
This service is available at Granton Youth Centre as well as at Broughton High School.  C-Card Direct (0ver 16s) is also available from our Street-workers.

Getting It Right

Getting it right for every child in Edinburgh.
Granton Youth Centre, as one of the partner agencies in the Edinburgh Network of Voluntary Organisations for Children, Young People and Families, is fully committed to the GIRFEC in Edinburgh approach. 
Getting it right for every child, known as GIRFEC, is about agencies and professionals working in partnership with children, young people and their families to try to ensure the best outcomes for children and young people, always keeping the child/young person at the centre of this approach.  Granton Youth Centre will work to ensure that the needs of young people and their families are fully included and that staff and volunteers at GYC understand the GIRFEC approach and how it can help a child or young person get some extra support when it’s most needed.
Here is a link to the GIRFEC in Edinburgh website: www.edinburgh.gov.uk/girfec  

Work with Parents and Carers

A group of local women meets every Sunday at GYC between 2pm and 4pm to support each other especially about issues of parenting and living locally.  The group is an informal support network for anyone either struggling with difficult teens, or just wanting to access some advice and information from other women in the same situation.
Granton Youth Centre also runs relevant workshops for parents and carers of young people on topics that concern them, such as community safety, drugs and alcohol.
Parents and carers are welcome to come and chat to staff members if they have concerns about their children and want some advice, or information.

n Centre Provision

	10-11am	11-12pm	12-1pm	1-2pm	2-3pm	3-4pm	4-5pm	5-6pm	6-7pm	7-8pm	8-9pm
Mon				1pm-3pm Individual Employability Appointments 16-25s					6.30-8.00pm Volunteers
Tue		11am-2pm Young Men's Group 16-25s				3-6pm Counselling 15-25s			6.30-8.00pm S1-S3 Open Club
Wed	10am-12pm Individual Employability Appointments 16-25s			1-2pm Lunch Club	2pm-4pm Employability Drop-in 16-25s				6.30-8.00pm S1-S4 Young Womens
Thurs	10-12noon Young Women's Group 16-25s				2pm-4pm Individual Employability Appointments 16-25s				6.30-8pm S1-S4 Young Mens
Fri	10am-12noon Team Meeting				2pm-4pm Project Work				6.30-8.00pm S4 Cafe G - Open Club
Sat
Sun					2pm-4pm Women's Support Group

Out Of Centre Provision

	10-11am	11-12pm	12-1pm	1-2pm	2-3pm	3-4pm	4-5pm	5-6pm	6-7pm	7-8pm	8-9pm
Thurs								5-7pm Trinity Street-Work
									6-7pm Football Bangholm
Fri								5-7pm Pilton Street Work			Football Spartans 16-25s
									6-8pm Muirhouse Street Work
Sat								5-7pm Granton Street Work
Sun									6-9pm Sunday Super League Spartans

We train and support young people aged 16-25 to become volunteers at Granton Youth Centre.  The volunteer team meets every week to experience group training sessions as well as an opportunity to develop skills and confidence.  Over the last 5 years, volunteers have been a really influential and essential component of the GYC team, contributing hugely to the direction and development of the organisation.
Volunteers get the chance to volunteer at clubs, discos, residentials and often more challenging projects, working on ideas that they have come up with themselves.  The emphasis on our work with volunteers is that much of the activity is youth-led and allows the young person to have a real say in what they want to concentrate on.
You don’t have to come from North Edinburgh to volunteer at Granton Youth Centre – just as long as you can find and get on the right bus, we will provide your bus fares!  Despite the fact that we will have to undertake Disclosures with each new volunteer, there really isn’t much that will act as a barrier to your volunteering with us.
If you want to talk to someone about volunteering, please email Jane McColl on jane@grantonyouth.com or send in an application.

Reaching out for reconciliation and peace in Timor-Leste

His Excellency Xanana Gusmão, President of Timor-Leste
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East Timor’s twenty-five-year struggle for independence has created the need for a national reconciliation process ‘whereby justice is meted out to perpetrators but which eschews revenge, resentment and hatred’. As this article by East Timor’s president points out, this is a challenge not confined to his country: globalisation has spread intolerance and violence across the world, making peace building an urgent priority. Essential to this task is the involvement of civil society, which is less partisan than governments and less subject to political or economic pressure. The President describes the work of East Timor’s Commission for Truth and Reconciliation and concludes that ‘Volunteering is a nobler way of working as it demonstrates a sense of responsibility and does not ask for any benefits in return’.

Government and volunteering

Dr Justin Davis Smith, Director, Institute for Volunteering Research
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One of the most important lessons from International Year of Volunteers (IYV) 2001 was that government support is vital if volunteering is truly to fulfil its potential. Using the findings of the IYV evaluation, this article identifies six different ways in which governments can provide that support: providing funds; making policy that is friendly to volunteering; setting an example (for example, by encouraging civil servants to volunteer); forming partnerships with organisations that involve volunteers; generating publicity for volunteering; and providing recognition for people who volunteer. However, the research also showed that there are four potential problems with government support: firstly, if a government fails to provide enough support; secondly, if it attempts to erode the autonomy of volunteering; thirdly, if it fails to provide a central contact point for volunteering within the administration; and fourthly, if it is reluctant to accept that volunteers can be campaigners as well as service-providers.

National youth service as an instrument of peace and reconciliation

Donald J. Eberly, Honorary President, International Association for National Youth Service
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As a worldwide increase in demand for social welfare services coincides with a decline in government funding for such services, the time has never been more opportune for national youth service (NYS): ‘non-military programmes in which young people serve with varying degrees of voluntarism’. This article looks at how NYS programmes can build upon ‘the sense of mutual responsibility that should exist between a nation and its young people’. It analyses programmes in Germany and Nigeria, and gives a list of recommendations for how governments can make NYS a success. The article then looks at ‘service-learning’, where the practical experience gained in NYS is used as the basis of academic study, and makes recommendations for good practice. In conclusion, the problems that NYS programmes may encounter — including unrealistic expectations of what they can achieve – are examined.

Time changes lives – trust changes everything: volunteer work for conflict resolution and reconciliation in Northern Ireland

Professor Jimmy Kearney, Centre for Voluntary Action Studies, University of Ulster
Wendy Osborne, Director, Volunteer Development Agency
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Intercommunal violence in Northern Ireland has claimed the lives of more than 3,500 people in the past thirty years. This article describes the major contribution volunteers have made to resolving conflict in the troubled province. Volunteering has been effective in this task because it has been inclusive and diverse and because government has created an enabling environment. There are case studies of how volunteers have helped with intercommunal reconciliation. A particularly optimistic sign is the number of young people involved in this kind of work.

Service-learning through volunteering:
The Graduate Volunteer Programme, Thailand

Supparat Rattanamuk, Assistant Professor, Graduate
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Volunteer Centre, Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand
Although volunteering has long been a way of life in Thailand, fewer than a quarter of the adult population are currently involved in any kind of voluntary work. This article describes the one-year diploma course set up by Thammasat University to encourage young graduates to learn about rural society through volunteering. By taking part in development projects to benefit poor people, young people can acquire valuable practical experience. This is a service-learning programme unique in Thailand; it helps the students to see their service in the larger context of social justice and social policy rather than simply charity.

International megatrends in volunteerism

Mary V. Merrill, Merrill Associates, Columbus, Ohio, USA
R. Dale Safrit, Department of 4-H Youth Development, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
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In this article, the authors suggest that eight consistent patterns – or ‘megatrends’ – have affected volunteering during the past decade. They are: (1) a growing concern for the impact of time on volunteering; (2) variations in the meaning of the word ‘volunteering’ from country to country; (3) demographic changes that have forced volunteer programmes to concentrate on the extremes of the age continuum; (4) a growing awareness of the need for truly pluralistic approaches to volunteer recruitment, engagement and management; (5) a recognition that volunteering promotes reciprocity, community, social solidarity and citizenship; (6) a demand for volunteer programme managers to demonstrate greater professionalism; (7) the growing role of ICT in facilitating the exchange of information about volunteering; and (8) differences of opinion about the appropriate role of government in the promotion and support of volunteerism.

A new approach to the international exchange of volunteers: a ‘closed’ policy

Chang-Ho Lee, Secretary General, KOrean Pioneers In Overseas NGOs Inc (KOPION), Seoul, Korea
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Intermediary bodies that recruit and place volunteers overseas usually adopt an ‘open’ approach: that is, they leave the initial selection of the volunteers, and their after-care once they arrive, to the recipient organisations. This article introduces KOPION Inc (KOrean Pioneers in Overseas NGOs Inc), a Seoul-based organisation that has pioneered the ‘closed’ approach, whereby only NGOs registered as members of an international network of organisations committed to certain standards are able to exchange their volunteers. The potential of the ‘closed’ approach for building an effective international volunteer network is explored.

The Korean government’s policy for promoting volunteering

Myung-sook Han, Minister for Gender Equality, Korea
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IYV 2001 was a dramatic year for volunteering in Korea: volunteers were heavily involved in the hosting of the football World Cup, and immediately afterwards were called on to help the victims of the disastrous floods that swept the country. This article describes the Korean government’s four-part plan to promote volunteering: (i) funding the training, support and recognition of volunteers, (ii) improving the infrastructure for volunteering, (iii) introducing a volunteering programme for women and young people and publicising it widely, and (iv) working more closely with NGOs.

Youth volunteering in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Vahida Huzejrovic, Co-ordinator of Voluntary Work, Osmijeh (the Association for Psychosocial Help and the Development of Voluntary Work), Gracanica, Bosnia
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The power of volunteering to bring about reconciliation is never more needed than in the aftermath of war. This article describes how thousands of young volunteers helped to rebuild Bosnia after years of conflict. The volunteers helped not only their fellow citizens but also themselves; thanks to their voluntary service, they lost their feelings of helplessness and apathy, and regained their belief in themselves.

The Peace Corps in the twenty-first century

Dr Kyo Paul Jhin, Director, Office of Planning, Policy and Analysis, Peace Corps, Washington DC, USA
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Since it was set up in 1961, the US Peace Corps has sent more than 165,000 volunteers to serve in 135 countries. This article gives a brief profile of the Corps, covering its origins in a proposal by John F Kennedy, its constitution and funding, its ambitious range of programmes (including education, business, the environment, agriculture, health and community development) and its promising future – the number of Peace Corps volunteers is to be doubled to fourteen thousand by 2007.

Promoting international youth voluntary services in Asia

Lee Ji-hyang, Junior Programme Specialist, Youth Team, Korean National Commission
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International youth volunteering has grown more slowly in south-east Asia than in Europe. This article proposes three ways of increasing the pace of development: firstly, by setting up properly organised, issue-based world youth forums and exchange programmes; secondly, by ensuring that all national, regional and international bodies – such as schools, youth organisations, businesses, governments and UN agencies – recognise the importance of volunteering in enabling young people to participate in sustainable development and to promote intercultural understanding; and finally, by encouraging young people to believe in their own potential.

Government support for volunteering in the Philippines

Horacio R Morales Jr, President, La Liga Policy Institute
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Volunteering is a widespread and long-standing practice in the Philippines but, as this article shows, it is currently failing to meet the steep increase in demand. This is partly because of the lack of a supportive policy environment at both national and regional level. The state-funded agency concerned with volunteering spends too much time vetting volunteers from abroad and too little time nurturing local initiatives. The government as a whole fails to see how useful volunteers can be in its programmes of national development. And there is a need for a south-east Asian regional body that can promote South-South volunteering as a means of opening dialogue between cultures – this will help to counter the ethnic intolerance currently threatening the region.

The future of volunteering

Leo Wong, Youth One, Edmonton, Canada
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By involving the ideas and energies of young people today, this article argues, we can ‘create a bridge between the strength of tradition and the energy of innovation’. We therefore need to use our collective power to inspire young people to volunteer worldwide. Three ideas are proposed that could help to shape the future: firstly, we need to embrace diversity – diversity of thought, belief and opinion – so that we can break down the barriers we have created for ourselves; secondly, we need to research volunteering more effectively, in order to fortify it as an institution for learning about ourselves; and thirdly, we all need to find our ‘inner youth’.

A volunteer exchange programme between Korea and Japan

Yoko Yazawa, Society of Yatsugatake Residents Contemplating Life and Death
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Relations between Korea and Japan have historically been problematic. This article describes the initial stages of a volunteer exchange programme designed to improve understanding between the two countries. A Korean student spent six months in the Japanese town of Fujimi, using half her time to volunteer in social welfare facilities and half to tell the local people about the Korean way of life. Once certain administrative problems have been solved, the programme is set to expand.

How volunteers are helping internally displaced families in Colombia

Maria Teresa Gnecco de Ruiz, Corporacios El Minuto de Dios
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Fifty years of civil strife in Colombia have led to the displacement of many families from the countryside to the cities. This article describes how one organisation, Corporación El Minuto de Dios, supports these displaced families from the moment they arrive, by helping them with housing and education, and by providing psychosocial services such as group therapy. The organisation’s volunteers carry out a variety of roles: raising public awareness of the needs of displaced families; raising funds; providing training; offering emotional support; helping with job search; and escorting families to cultural and recreational activities.

 

About YUVA:

Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) is a voluntary development organization, working since 1984. Our mission is “to empower the oppressed and the marginalized by facilitating their organizations and institutions towards building equal partnerships in the development process ensuring the fulfillment of their human rights to live in security, peace and dignity.”

Rural Unit of YUVA is based in Nagpur and focusing 3 major themes -NRM (Natural Resource & Management) & Livelihood, Gender & Other forms of Social Discrimination and Governance & Human Rights. Under Governance & Human Rights theme the focus is on Governance accountability; Capable Governance; Democracy; transparency and responsive governance, participation, inclusion, etc from Human Rights Perspective.