The Abingdon DAMASCUS Youth Project is a local charity supporting young people aged 10-25. Our vision and mission are simple: to empower and give opportunities to young people. This can help them to be the drivers behind positive change, increasing their life chances through the development of skills that improve their wellbeing and helping to transform their community through positive engagement that promotes a shared sense of belonging.
We have recently been expanding our presence into Abingdon town and building relationships with a group of young people that were feeling like they had no place to go. The “Meet-Up” – as it has become to be known – has become a space that the young people tell us they “look forward to every week”.
We now have new equipment, such as football goals and lights, we are in a much more influential position with the group and have been able to instigate many interesting open discussions and encourage the group to reflect on their relationships with the wider community in the hope that this can bring some more social cohesion within the community.
While we have been busy in Abingdon town, we have not forgotten about South Abingdon in the slightest! We have found that a good number of young people who had previously attended the gazebo sessions had stopped attending due to other work and educational opportunities that we had assisted with. However, the absence of some of the older young people seemed to open the space for a new group of a slightly younger age and we are relishing the challenge to have the same success in finding employment, educational and training opportunities with them.
Through the South Abingdon gazebo sessions, we have also picked up and developed bespoke support through several 1-2-1s. Through these, we have supported young people with issues such as substance misuse, low self-esteem, self-harm, CV building and relationship management.
We have always welcomed new faces to all our sessions, so if you would like to come down then please do.
Keep an eye out for our group fundraising events during the year! All will be announced on our social media.
Facebook: @TheAbingdonDamascusYouthProject
