Inside Salisbury: The YOU new initiative
Helping young people by bringing groups together
By Annette J Beveridge
A NEW initiative for young people aims to bring together professional organisations and voluntary groups to share knowledge, good news stories, and information.
The YOU Network began as a discussion at the annual Youth Provision Forum Networking meeting which led to a consultation with young people in Salisbury city in the early part of 2024. Following this, groups of volunteers and staff linked to charities, sports clubs and youth clubs, along with the local council have worked hard to create a framework for providers.
Launching this month, the YOU Network is a new initiative, coordinated by the Salisbury City Council Communities Team and a steering group involved in its creation, bringing voluntary groups and professional organisations together to share skills, knowledge, information, and good news stories to support young people in our city.
Current members of the network include The Up Market Bus Shelter Youth Club, Impact MMA, Buzz Action Foundation, Rise:61, Wiltshire Creative, The Bridge Youth Project, and Salisbury City Council-run Youth Clubs, along with a few organisations working in association with the network while they establish new youth provision in the city, including Level Up Salisbury and Salisbury Cathedral.
Director of Rise:61, Robin Imeson, said: “The YOU Network is going to help youth organisations in and around Salisbury to do their work a lot better. It can be a bit lonely sometimes being a youth worker, so networks like this are really important for the workers and their mental health, by just meeting people who are doing a similar thing and have similar passions. I'm really excited about the launch.”
Read more: Community landscaping project begins
Head of Community Services for the City Council, and coordinator of the initiative, Sarah Gregson, said: “Our values came through collaborations and understanding what we already do well across the clubs, drop-ins, and activities network members deliver weekly. We are all committed to being inclusive, reliable, listening to young people, being proud of them and staying connected to improve our work.”
Member of the steering group, Councillor Jo King, said: “For many years, since I was a youth worker myself, I have known that alongside activity groups which meet across the city, there is a need for safe spaces for young people; they themselves have identified this.
“Since being part of the Youth Forum for the City Council, I have pushed hard, as have others, for this dream of safe spaces for young people to become a reality. Much work has been done to create the YOU Network, and I believe it will be a project which will bring spaces to be available for young people where they can just simply ‘hang out’!”
Read more: Local charity tackling women’s rights
New providers wishing to get involved can join the network and work with young people aged 11 to 19. Parents and young people can look for the logo to know which organisations are involved or find the list of members on the City Council website YOU Network page, here.
Membership is free and gives access to signposting information, guidance on minimum standards, access to peer support from across the network, and brings members together to look for ways to address training needs.
Anyone interested in the YOU Network can find out more via the Salisbury City Council or All Together Wiltshire websites, with links to a downloadable information pack and registration form.
Photo (left to right): Suzanne Wilson, Sherwin Uban, James Babb, Karlene Jammeh (Engagement & Partnership Lead, South, at Wiltshire Council), Sarah Gregson, Robin Imeson, and Jonathan the Jester.
