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2022-03-31-annual-report

HOLY TRINITY YOUTH CENTRE

Annual Report

2021/22

REALISE – REACH – ACHIEVE

2 NORGLEN GARDENS, BELFAST, BT11 8EL Tel: (028) 90617602 E-mail: info@holytrinityyc.org www.facebook.com/HolyTrinityYouthCentre

Registered Charity No. – NIC102166

HOLY TRINITY YOUTH CENTRE CHARITABLE REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Management Committee: Harry Hawkins (Chairperson)
Very Rev Fr Brendan Mulhall (Vice Chairperson)
Marguerite Toal (Treasurer)
Josephine Higgins (Secretary)
Martin Stafford
Emma Courtney
Senior Youth Worker In Charge: Keith McCaugherty
Charity Number: NIC102166
Registered Address: 2 Norglen Gardens
Belfast
BT11 8EL
Bankers: Ulster Bank
202 – 206 York Street
Belfast
BT15 1HY

HOLY TRINITY YOUTH CENTRE

BACKGROUND

Holy Trinity Youth Centre is a voluntary, full-time youth provider based in the Turf Lodge area of West Belfast which for the past 50 years has been providing a much-needed service for the children and young people from the extensive parish of Holy Trinity and much further afield.

The locality of Holy Trinity Youth Centre places it in an geographical area blighted by severe social and economic disadvantage in which is ranked some of the most deprived of all the electoral wards and Super Output Areas highlighted by NISRA (2017) as suffering from multiple levels of deprivation; manifested in shorter life spans, high rates of long-term unemployment, lower levels of general good health, higher rates of crime and numerous other negative features.

We work in partnership with many local and national agencies, community groups and statutory authorities in order to maximise our impact in the area in which we are based and beyond. We work with young people between the ages of 8-25 years old and the Centre is staffed by one full-time, professionally qualified Senior Youth Worker, one 36 hours per week Studentship Scheme Worker, one 36 hours per week Fresh Start Worker, one 18 hours per week Family Support Worker, 15 part- time youth support workers and a bank of volunteer staff and volunteer coaches.

Holy Trinity aims to foster and encourage the personal, social, emotional, spiritual, physical, cultural and political development of children and young people through engagement in a range of activities, events, programmes and projects which endeavour to be both stimulating and challenging. The Youth Centre aims to broaden the horizons and life expectations of our children and young people and assist them in reaching their full potential as active and positive citizens in their community.

The staff team, with the unwavering support and encouragement of the Management Committee, work tirelessly to meet the ever-changing needs of the children and young people and to be responsive and proactive to the changing dynamics within the wider community; working to challenge and address inadequacies, vulnerability, tensions and exclusion; whilst assisting young people in building resilience, increasing their social capital and ensuring that our children and young people are fully developed, prepared for and are an intrinsic part of a changing and developing community and a changing North of Ireland.

HOLY TRINITY YOUTH CENTRE

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Holy Trinity Youth Centre is a registered charity and has been registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland since 28[th] April 2015. The management committee who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:

Harry Hawkins

Very Rev Fr Brendan Mulhall (Vice Chairperson) Marguerite Toal (Treasurer)

Josephine Higgins (Secretary) Martin Stafford

Emma Courtney

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Management Committee
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Senior Youth Worker In Charge(Keith McCaugherty)

Fresh Start Worker (Andrea Johnston) Fresh Start Worker (Roisin Stewart)

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Staff Team
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Trainee Leaders
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Youth Centre Membership
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West Belfast Peripatetic and Detached Youth work Coordinator (Conor Largey)

Family Support Worker (Sally Ireland) Administrator (Kevin Curran) Ancillary Staff (Angela O’Hare & Kate Curran)

HOLY TRINITY YOUTH CENTRE

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The management committee appoints the chairperson. The management committee appoints the treasurer, secretary and other officers as they decide. Holy Trinity Youth Centre governance is exercised by the management committee which is made up of men and women whose extensive experience in a variety of fields is invaluable to Holy Trinity on a voluntary and strongly committed basis.

Day-to-day management of the youth centre is headed by the senior youth worker in charge, assisted by a diverse staff team and volunteers. The worker in charge reports directly to the chairperson and management committee.

Administration and accounting oversight operate through regular recording of income and expenditure, forecasting budgets and re-profiling where necessary. The Youth Worker in Charge and Management committee oversee financial governance and agree any variances against income and expenditure.

Holy Trinity Youth Centre maintains effective skills audits to ensure personal and professional development of staff members and volunteers; this allows the team to continually deliver effective interventions to young people.

Holy Trinity Youth Centre is dependent on securing funding from a range of sources and operates under a banner of reliance on securing grants. Grants in excess of £10,000 were received from the following funder:

We receive a number of other small grants and income from centre membership that allow us to function at a greater standard and enhance the operations of the centre. Smaller grants were received from:

These grants have enabled us to continually develop our interventions with young people and increase opportunities for engagement throughout a difficult period, particularly due to the manifestation of Covid19, these grants also enabled us to provide targeted interventions with young people whose vulnerability had increased. Holy Trinity Youth Centre is Grateful for the support of these grant makers and Trust’s for the immeasurable Impact they have made.

The introduction of a new pension requirements has increased salary costs that has reduced spend on services and programme areas, We strive to become financially sustainable and this continues to be our aim moving forward

HOLY TRINITY YOUTH CENTRE

PROGRAMME DELIVERY

Holy Trinity Youth Centre offered a plethora of programmes and activities that enhance and promote the holistic development of young people using our services. Programmes on offer include:

Holy Trinity Youth Centre as Lead partner in a consortium of youth projects in West Belfast and was awarded a grant by the Education Authority to coordinate the delivery of detached or street- based youth work in West Belfast. Developing Practice, Systems and Quality assurance mechanisms and working collaboratively with partners, agencies and organisations to support detached young people and coordinate resources and services across the Wider West Belfast Area

In March 2021 Holy Trinity Youth Centre received a Grant from the Halifax foundation to support the emotional well-being and educational attainment of 30 young people aged 8-20 through 1-1 support, academic and educational support, and positive well-being activities, this project enabled Holy Trinity Youth Centre support and bridge the gap between those young people under-achieving in education and support structures and networks to create pathways of resilience and growth.

• Henry Smith Charity: Holiday Grant

Henry Smith Charity supported 12 young people 11-13 to participate on this project which provided the opportunity to take part on an all-day diversionary and fun based experience. This project was completed in the Context of COVID 19 pandemic and was delivered under the current guidance at that time.

The late night programme ran on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening for our senior members. This provided an alternative to congregating on the streets and supported the prevention and reduction of any possible anti-social behavior.

Primary school children availed of our after schools programme which was available Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This provided much needed respite to families and offered learning and social support through our homework club and various other activities. Approximately 65 children attended per session. After schools was suspended in March due to Covid19.

• Outreach & Detached work

Our trained outreach and detached team engaged with approximately 55 young people per evening in areas known for hotspots of socialising and at times risk-taking behaviors. The team provided support and alternatives for young people, including the opportunity to participate in our ‘late night programme’ as well as other available services. This team worked under the coordination of the newly established West Belfast Detached Team.

• Youth Centre

The youth centre in general welcomes approximately 90 young people per day who participate in a range of programmes, activities, and projects. The centre is a safe space to interact with others and supports physical, emotional, spiritual and social wellbeing. Covid19 easement of restrictions seen the closure and re-open of the centre but this did not deter the determination of our staff team, who engaged with young people online and continued to provide beneficial interactions. With the easement of Lockdown restrictions were eased this allowed the staff to create safe social distancing opportunities for young people to engage in more interpersonal activities

• Family support

We have a family support worker who engages with families within the community and provides much needed support to those who are experiencing hardships. This work is undertaken with complete discretion, with maximum confidentiality for those availing of the service.

• Fresh Start

The Fresh Start programme is designed to engage young people who are deemed to be at high risk from paramilitaries or becoming at risk from paramilitaries both directly and indirectly. The Fresh Start team engage with both the young person and their family to provide support and encourage alternative lifestyle opportunities.

• Christmas Appeal

The Christmas appeal was a joint initiative between Holy Trinity Youth Centre and Gransha Taxis. The initiative saw donations of food and toys, which were presented to the most vulnerable families in our society. This was a truly heart-warming project that ensured many families had an enjoyable festive period.

The emergence of Covid19 meant it was a difficult period for the centre and community in general. Lockdown meant we had to rethink our approach to engagement with young people and how we ensured they continued to receive support. Online interventions were developed and support packages of food through the ‘Eat Well, Live Well’ initiative were distributed. We continue to develop our practice through this period to offer support within the community.

HOLY TRINITY YOUTH CENTRE

MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE YEAR ENDING 31[ST] AUGUST 2022

Junior Members (Primary School aged 6-11)

Junior Males = 94

Senior Members – (Secondary School aged 11 and above)

Senior Males = 127

Junior Females = 76 Senior Females = 77

– Total Membership 374 young people

My staff team and I continue to work as hard as we can to maintain our current membership levels and as you can see our membership numbers are similar to previous years as we begin to return to maximum capacity in the safest way possible, As Covid19 Restrictions become minimal we can now offer more face-face engagements. During the summer months in particularly this was helpful in diverting young people from ASB related issues.

Attendance figures on a daily basis are reflective of the continued interest in our ongoing provision. The daily figures have been set out below and set out in monthly averages. We maintained contact with young people as we retuned to more normal working procedures this helped getting young people re-engaged with our service

DAY Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri W/end Average
MONTH
September
2021		 121 119 130 100 170 104 124
October
2021		 117 134 141 121 177 99 131
November
2021		 99 121 108 100 152 83 111
December
2021		 113 110 121 99 161 80 114
January
2022		 130 115 100 96 170 72 113
February
2022		 100 120 119 102 160 96 94
March
2022		 126 120 117 99 155 101 120
April 2022 155 131 101 110 160 88 124
May2022 121 130 119 98 142 100 118
June 2022 137 122 93 88 155 121 119
Summer
2022		 144 136 128 100 160 101 128
Averages 124 123 116 101 160 95 118

HOLY TRINITY YOUTH CENTRE

SUMMATION

Holy Trinity Youth Centre continues to provide a much-needed service to the young people of Turf Lodge and the wider community. We continue to plan and deliver numerous programmes through our staff team, who continue to commit their time and effort all year round. Staff morale and dedication is invaluable to the centre and its many service users.

Although financially we continue to remain reliant on grants, we continually explore new opportunities to become more sustainable and self-sufficient. We will continue to apply for additional funding from a range of streams that will allow the delivery of new and exciting projects.

The management committee remain fully dedicated to the centre and provide a wealth of knowledge, experience and advice on all strategic and operational functions that ensure the centre continues to provide a quality service to young people.

We are aware that challenges will continue to present themselves in the coming year and we are ready to overcome them, ensuring the continuation of our much needed and vital service to the young people of Turf Lodge.