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| Youthreach, Harmonstown |
During my research I visited two Youthreach centres. One in Harmonstown, the other in Bonnybrook, Coolock. I did my research, I had not spoken to anyone involved in Youthreach, I knew of a few of our students who tried it out and didn't 'like it', I knew of other students who had succeeded in Youthreach, overall I did not know what to expect. So I expected the unexpected.
My first impression was shock when I saw the buildings, both of them!! One was a disused factory, the other seemed to be a converted hall. After the shock of the aesthetics what I encountered were very vibrant centres with friendly atmospheres. Staff are obviously very concerned about and relate well to the participants. The participants eyed me up with suspicion but once this initial ritual was over they chatted and told me about their experiences in Youthreach. Coping with everyday issues underpins many activities in Youthreach. Students learn to cook, improve their communication skills. Numeracy and literacy skills improvement have a high priority. The staff and particpants were on first name terms, the interactions were very different to what I experience in school. On the surface they appear to be on more equal terms, however, discipline is an important and has to be kept and maintained in the centres., which can lead to frustrations by the participants .
Youthreach Centres and Community Training Centres are mainly located in disadvantaged areas and reflect the needs of the local community.
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| Youthreach, Bonnybrook, Coolock |
For many of the male participants the first job of the tutors is to encourage to take their hoods down while in the centres! This can take time and effort, but all I saw was two or three hoods up during my visits, so they are obviously successful in this regard. Overall the centres were safe, caring units where young people could attend and develop skills which would reengage them into a society that many feel disenfranchised from.
Hi Eimear, that's really great that you got out to visit the Youthreach centres and see the good work first hand plus to be able to compare interactions to your experience. It sounds like a much different environment to the school but still where practical skills are gained.
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