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Previous
News
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Priority Youth Housing has a group of service users called the Youth Development Group who applied for £9500 from the Princes Trust to run activities for other PYH service users. The YDG is responsible for planning, organising and spending all of this money, so far they have arranged and ran,
· A Healthy
Eating Cooking Course for Young Mums
· Sports activities including five-a-side football tournaments and
outdoor pursuits.
· A DIY Course ran in partnership with one of our contractors Express
Property Services.
· A Forum called 'Meet up and Speak UP' giving young people a chance
to meet up with other service users and socialise whilst having a voice in
the organisation.
Future Projects
· Loads more
sports activities including a healthy living/eating day, rock climbing and
canoeing.
· An IT project to design a calendar that all Service Users can use.
· An Art Project to design a piece of art for St George's House PYH's
new Young Person's Housing Project.
Main aims
1) To involve young
people in organising activities through the Youth Development Group.
2) The YDG will produce a variety of activities for Clients to get involved
in such as Cookery, Sports, DIY etc.
3) To raise Young People's self esteem and skill levels by organising and
participating in activities.
4) To provide a different way for Staff to engage with their Clients through
activities hopefully this will have a positive effect on support relationships.
The Princes Trust has called our Project the best that they've seen in the South West of England and they are so impressed with the Young People involved in the project that they want to put their stories as Case Studies on their National Web Page.
This is a project that can change people's lives - one lad now has a place on an IT diploma Course in Sept because of his part in organising the IT project. Another young person is considering applying for a Small Business Loan from the Princes Trust because she feel's that she has learnt so much by taking part in the project.
If you are currently a service user of Priority and would like to get involved, speak to your support worker or to Jo on 0117 953 0404.
Future plans:
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Barbara Janke the Leader of Bristol City Council visited a Priority shared house on Friday 2nd Dec. This is because she heard some young people tell their stories about their experiences of homelessness at Priority's AGM in Sept and wanted to discuss what more can be done for young homeless people in the city.
Carole
Brought up in North Bristol Carole's dad died when she was 13. When she was 16 her mum left her and her older sister to care for their 4 younger brothers and sisters. The Council and Social Services eventually found out that the mum had left home and took one younger sister into care and moved Carole and her older sister out from the house and placed them in bed and breakfast accommodation. Carole and her sister stayed in BB for a while, an experience they found very unsettling as there were people using drugs and sex workers also staying at the BB. Carole and her sister moved into a hostel for a while and then into their older sister's flat but this was over crowded and Carole's sister asked her to leave the day after her 17th birthday. In Carole's own words she was left feeling "really alone and that no one wanted me". Carole went back to the BB where she had first stayed and they arranged through the Hub for her to stay there temporarily and then she was offered a place in a shared house with Priority Youth Housing.
She now has a settled place to call her own and with support from her Supported Housing Officer she has been able to develop her independent living skills, start a college course, a driving skills course and work towards her move on into permanent accommodation.
You may have heard Carole's story on the radio or seen her on Points West, if you'd like to know more about supporting the work of Priority Youth Housing, click here.
To read the full story in the paper, click here.
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A big thank you and well done to Frances Symington, who raised £635.90 by taking part in the Bristol Half Marathon on 2nd October. Her time was an excellent 1:44:39. This money will go into our residents welfare fund, which assists those moving into self contained accommodation for the first time to furnish their home with some of the basics. To visit her fundraising page, click here.
Series of writing from
past residents, 1997 - 1999
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Can you see the little girl She’s in the looking
- glass
In a world of make - believe she’s free Do I move to let her pass?
Can you see her dreaming?
And the snowflakes at her feet? My world is just a world away
And I cannot hear the beat.
| Chorus: |
| In my fevered dream I see the man He’ll
steal her happiness if he can She keeps on smiling though he’s near She’s too happy to feel my fear. |
I cannot even find a way
To enter into her world I don’t want to wake to this reality
Leave my mind unfurled.
Leave me to watch her dancing She makes my world a better
one The man is gone, my fear has fled
And I can put away my gun.
(ch). Repeat.
Written by Luke Foilwalker.
I float.
A weightless mass, My guy-ropes gone.
You are an ant to me - As I look down from the heights.
All so small, and uninteresting. As a snail might be
To a crocodile.
I see you, but you don’t see me Nor would you, unless you were dead
-
Like me. I float
Float away. I float
away.
By Mark Welsh
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My name is Chris Stowell (known as CJ). I’m a member of a group called Homefront Initiative which is part of Bristol Cyrenians. We are a group of young people which aims to prevent youth homelessness, for example we do presentations at youth centres, schools, hostels etc. Each member has experienced being homeless at some point. If any young people who are or have been homeless, would like to prevent other young people becoming homeless, contact me, CJ, at Priority on 0117 953 0404 |
Hostel boy came home one day
To find true love had gone away When he asked the reason why
She gave him this short reply
"If you had lived an honest life I would have
been your lawful wife
But as you live a life of crime Hostel boy Go and do your time"
So all alone in his room he quietly went And got a blade
He left a note upon his bed Dig my grave
Dig it Deep Lay red roses at my feet
And on my chest
A poor white dove To show my darling
I did it for love
By Tina Barnett
| In 1974 I was born in Bristol to Mr/Mrs Semmence.
I was their second child as the first one was a girl who was to be called
Ann, but she died at birth.
For the first two years I lived in Pill with my dad, a doctor and my mum who was a cleaner. At the age of three we moved to Southmead Road. In the following two years there were two more brothers added to the family plus one cute puppy called Emma. At five my dad went to Saudi Arabia. He was there for three years and on his return my mum wanted a divorce, so for the following two years it was me, my two brothers, mum and the dog. As a result my mum could not cope so I was beaten by her to get back at my dad. After mum started getting help it was me who had to go, so I moved to Cornwall with my dad and Nan, who I hated. Life with them was easy as I got what I wanted any time as dad was never there as he was playing snooker or going out. When I left school I started working with my dad as he was selling old cars, so it was an easy going life in which money was always there for me to blow at my choice. Then at Christmas 1996 things went from good to hell in one month. There was a small problem as a result of which I was forced to move back to Bristol and live with mum, but things got very hard for mum so I left. I was moving from place to place for a while and I found out about a place called English Churches Housing - a hostel for the homeless. I was there for three months then got the chance to move into a Priority run house. Things got better as I got a job working in a hotel. I still work there. Life is getting much better so at the age of 23 things are looking good. By Simon Semmence |
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I think the open day was a good opportunity for people outside of Priority to see how Priority and the project room is run, and also a chance for the residents to see and meet the providers of the project room. I personally enjoyed showing people the advantages of the Internet. For instance if you were interested in a college/young apprenticeship course, you have instant access any college brochures and courses available. The computers are also very usefully you wish to apply for a job or do a CV. I enjoy using the e-mail service to keep in touch with friends and to e-mail my social worker, who is typically very hard to contact. I have also made some new friends through using the project room who are in the same boat as me, and we sometimes meet up and go out clubbing etc. Another good thing are the “chat” services available these sites enable you to chat to people all over the world, this is good for confidence building.
By Danny Hill |
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I live in a terraced house in Southville, Bedminster. It is a very spacious house with four bedrooms and a kitchen and bathroom. It is shared accommodation and the house is very well maintained and cleaned regularly. There are three other residents living there and they are all safe to live with. Our house is well respectful and peaceful. It used to be very noisy and has taken a lot of time and effort to sort out. There is no living room, but the size of our rooms make up for that and they are comfortable. The hot water and heating is very efficient. We are also putting a phone in soon.
By Daniel Hill, a Priority Resident |
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On Thursdays and Fridays at Priority we go to play, bug and of course learn about computers with the help of Anna O. Anna is in charge of the computers from 2.00 to 4.30 every Thursday and Friday when we are given help to find things which we want to find out about. e.g Louise and Rachel from Friends. On the computers there is Yahoo which is a chat program in which you can talk to people in other places. Then there is Quake which is a Doom based game and now I know the cheats I can do well. It is a very relaxed atmosphere with the staff not boring but a good laugh plus there is coffee and tea always there for use. Anna is cool becaues she is in control but is always easy to talk to and gives good advice in other areas as well so she is cool for a small like smurf type person. By Simon Semmence |
A blanket of snow covers the ground
Except for a patch of yellow A dog loped by and licked at it
This dog was called Pillow.
For a few hours after it felt quite sick
And threw-up on the kitchen floor It whined in pain for the next three days
And died agonised on day four.
You might be wondering what I’m getting at
But it’s obvious to me, you know The moral of this story is-
Don’t eat yellow snow!
By Mark Welsh
Dr. Foster went to Gloucester
And stepped in a puddle of puke He went back home in a screaming rage
And built himself a nuke.
He set his sights upon that town
And with his finger pressed the button Three minutes later that nuke went
off
The mushroom looked like cotton.
Two days later there were more
mushrooms And the Earth, it was, no more
The moral of this story is- Don’t start a nuclear war!
By Mark Welsh
Who are you to say that I waste away?
Fat cash in your wallet, I bug your life today. Can’t take me down
so you spit in my face
Cos I’m at the bottom of your fuckin’ rat race I may be homeless
but I’m not a disgrace
So spare me some change? And not with your hate.
I sit in the gutter but not through my choice I may be a bum but I still
have a voice.
Don’t kick me in the face when I’m trying
to sleep
When you’re drunk and I’m not - you cowardly creep My mother
once said "Son, look before you leap".
So what can I do now I’m down on the street?
I cry out for help, but there’s no one around
With my head in my hands no one hears my sound.
Kill myself would be a very good idea Not just for death cos it’s
you that I fear
You live in your nice home with what you hold dear That must be nice for
you, but I’m alone here.
By Mark Welsh
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I worked for a shop which will remain nameless. I started working for them in 1994/5 and I had been doing everything for them things like counting hangers, tidying up, working the till and watching the customers. Also devoting all of my time to the shop from eight/nine to five and sometimes six o’clock . I worked all year round and then came Christmas. It was Boxing Day and my boss asked me to spend Xmas with her and her house mates so I did. She decided to go to the pub and meet her brother there, but we only got as far as the Hen and Chicken as she only lives in Raleigh Road. We were heading for the Robins and she was chatting up two blokes. She was very drunk so we finally left the pub at half past nine. I had to hold her up because she fell off the curb and she also fell in a puddle, she tried blowing on a boot of a car for a man because it was frozen . Then came the New Year and I was doing four things at the same time and a member of staff came out and asked me to give him a discount on a pair of trousers which were £1.99. I put in £1.49 which let him off by 50 pence and then I signed off of the till and someone else got on. Then one of my bosses came out and the bloke told her that I’d given him a discount when I shouldn’t have, and I got thrown out of the shop and now I am banned from the shop. All just for a 50 pence mistake (stupid isn’t it).
By Anna McGurrell |
Total cost per person about £1.00, serves 4.
Ingredients: 100gms
lentils
2 big carrots
125 grammes raisins
1pint milk
rice
Instructions: 1 medium onion
Lightly fry onions and add curry powder plus all the spices and seasonings
etc.
3 teaspoons medium madras curry powder Turn to light heat number 1-2, add
cream.
1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder Make sure that you stir it while you
add the cream.
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger Add lentils plus 1pt milk.
1 teaspoon mixed spice Peel and chop veg and put all the veg and the rasins
in.
1 carton cream Cook on medium to low heat for and hour to an hour and a
half.
½ tin sweetcorn Cook the rice, serve and enjoy!
It is here again, there is no escape from it wherever you go all over the
world, if you live in France you are no longer just the nation of France,
you are holding the World Cup 98.
England have such high hopes for glory. With memory’s of 66 and Euro 96 in our heads, we will watch and hope. This year will be remembered for England winning the cup or Englands' failure.
This is England’s best chance in a long time with Shearer and Owen at the front, and Beckham and Ince. Michael Owen has come at the right time for England as he will be England’s big star.
Are we forgetting the other teams like Brazil who are the best at the art of football? They have a man called Ronaldo who at this time is the best player in the world. Ronaldo has proved his worth in Italy which have the best defences in the world.
The other teams are to watch Italy and Germany. On the fans front, Jamaica are there with their colourful style to match that of the Brazilian fans.
All we can do is watch and hope that England go all the way!
By Simon Semmence
http://www.priorityyouth.co.uk -- Revised:
8 December, 2006
Copyright © 1997 Priority
priority@priorityyouth.co.uk