Summer 2018, I’m stood with a group of people I hardly know in front of 400 meters of inflatable obstacles. Somehow I’d agreed to do this, I must have felt brave when I said yes, now I needed to find it again.
More recently I was at Centre Parcs with a group of songwriters and we decided to visit the Aquaparc. The whole team were excited about going on the Typhoon, the whole team except me. I wanted to go on it, I just felt scared, so I said I didn’t want to. The team leader told me that was fine, but this week was about facing our fears, both in creativity and in this sense. If I just didn’t want to because it wasn’t my thing, that was fine. If fear was limiting me, could I see it as a challenge to find my brave in?
In both of these circumstances, finding my brave was achieved by other people drawing alongside me. At Brogdale CIC, we look to develop projects which help children and young people (and in some cases adults) find their brave. We believe that this is essential to building resilience, wellbeing and hope in their lives.
In our youth work, we are always looking for opportunities to encourage and build-up skills & passions in the young people we work with.
This could be in Cooking Up Ideas, Lego or gardening clubs, or in the work we deliver for Swale Youth. All have great teams who draw alongside young people and help then find their brave!
“it’s not putting pressure on them and excepting them the way they are with there disabilities letting them know that we all have things we are good at and not so good at. Never shooting down their ideas from cooking to playing games and getting them to take ownership of the club’s helps (them be brave). Letting the young people see the staff make mistakes, for example, me dropping a bag of flour all over myself … helps. Then asking how the young people would do it better gives them confidence. “
Craftworks is our Post-16 specialist provider college and holds fast to the mission to enhance student skills, provide qualifications and equip people for a positive next step into adulthood. This is achieved by having small teaching groups, work experience opportunities, mentors and practical learning; helping students find their brave!
This happens in our social business and adult work experiences too. At Food with Friends Café young people and adults with disabilities can learn the skills of catering and hospitality. Over at Pruning Time we are growing great gardening (& now landscaping) opportunities for our students and adults. We also run an adult work experience project called Learnabout which has sites in both Faversham & Ashford. Currently, we have space to fill on this project. Could we help you find your brave?
This week we are supporting Children’s Mental Health Week in raising awareness of the importance of children and young people’s mental health by asking: what makes you brave? What makes me brave are the people who draw around me, and I look to be that to them and to the young people I work with because I know it makes a difference!
How can Brogdale CIC be part of you, finding your brave?
