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The work of local youth charities is extremely important. From running after school clubs to providing tailored support schemes - this type of charity offers so much to the younger generation.
They make a massive impact on the lives of young people: improving their educational, social and emotional opportunities and outcomes. This work is varied and often links with complex social issues, but is still a specialist solution for any person aged 25 and under to take advantage of.
Local Youth Charities in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland offers many youth charities that are convenient and accessible to those who need it most. Covering all issues from mental health to poverty to abuse - here are our top three amazing youth charities that are local to you:
Home-Start
Home-Start is a local community network with offices spanning across 18 locations in Northern Ireland. It is made up of trained volunteers who offer expert support services, helping families and young children through challenging times.
The charity provides a diverse range of services for both parents and children. These include:
Home Visiting
Home visits are one of the core services supplied by Home-Start. It involves volunteers visiting families to discuss and determine their specific needs. From this, they can receive help around isolation, postnatal illness, disability, mental health, bereavement, poverty or financial issues.
Early Communication
Home-Start’s LENA programme offers coaching for parents and their children aged between birth to three years of age. It focuses on enhancing and advancing the child’s all-important communication skills at a young age.
It is delivered over a 12 week structured period. During this time, it provides families with innovative and personalised data to show how many words a child is hearing and how many conversations they are engaged in.
Skills Programmes
Home-Start’s Big Hopes Big Future programme helps parents build the skills their child needs so they are ready for their first day of school. This programme was initiated as it was found almost half of five-year-olds are not ready for their first day of education.
The programme assists children by developing reading, writing, numeracy, and understanding of the routines of the school day. Therefore easing the transition and culture shock for both children and parents.
Early Intervention
Home-Start believes a child’s earliest years pave the way for their future. To maximise their educational, social and emotional skills, volunteers provide tailored early intervention support. This involves one-to-one support based on the child’s capabilities, as well as the family’s circumstances.
We highly recommend Home-Start for hybrid support, covering both parents and young children. It is a fantastic charity that has the experience and expertise to truly maximise future potential, development and skills.
Action for Children
Action for Children is a charity that speaks out for the most vulnerable children and young people across the UK. Based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the charity’s work is centred on safeguarding children and supplying them with the tools they need to thrive in life.
The support this charity provides is extensive, with services spanning across the following:
Early Years
Action for Children aims to provide children with the best start in life. It does this by giving parents the support they need to accurately respond to their child’s needs and help them achieve their full potential.
Whether it be during pregnancy or starting preschool, Action for Children can offer health visitor services, speech therapy, access to midwives, parent classes, play groups and even support sessions.
Young People
Education and work can be a huge, difficult milestone for young people to reach. This can depend on their circumstances and accessibility to such services. Action for Children creates opportunities for young people, supporting them into learning and jobs that shape their lives.
They do this by:
Finding placement and apprenticeship opportunities
Protecting young people from organised crime
Offering court or custody support
Preventing the chance of homelessness
Mental Health
Most mental health issues begin in childhood. However, many children are not offered support until later on in their adult life.
Action for Children provides early intervention with the aim to mitigate crises, enhance confidence and improve overall well being. It does this by giving children valuable skills and tools to help them cope with life and maximise their potential across both personal and professional landscapes.
Having worked in the public and not-for-profit sector for many years, we at S3 Solutions are big advocates for this local youth charity’s phenomenal work.
MACS Supporting Children and Young People
Based in Belfast, Newry, Downpatrick and Lisburn - MACS Supporting Children and Young People is a charity that works with those aged between 6-25 years old who have had a tough start in life. They specialise in situations surrounding homelessness, substance abuse, leaving care and mental health issues.
MACS is an amazing charity that offers the following core services to name a few:
Supported Housing
Many young people are not fully prepared for life on their own. That’s why MACS provides housing support to help them find their feet.
They do this by offering self-contained flats for young people to move into and live in for up to two years. This not only helps them adjust to what it’s like to live independently, but it also better prepares them for the future ahead of them.
Floating Support
The term ‘floating’ relates to those who need access to accommodation, or help in maintaining their home. MACS specialises in supporting those aged between 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
They do this by offering a tailored two-year support plan that is regularly reviewed depending on progress and needs. It is an amazing service that ensures the person receiving help is continually thriving rather than struggling.
Wellbeing Support
MACS aims to provide solutions that help children and young people carve their own path for both personal and professional success. It does this by offering mental health and well being support to those aged between 11-25.
The charity’s goals are to be constantly proactive in reducing crisis situations. These can include those as severe as self-harm and suicidal thoughts. In a bid to build confidence, it’s services span across: finding positive coping mechanisms, building new support networks, as well as securing training, education and work.
For those in need, we urge you to explore the services provided by MACS Supporting Children and Young People.
At S3 Solutions, our consultancy services help local youth charities to strive and succeed. We develop and encourage new ideas and strategic tactics to help them overcome the constant challenges they and their beneficiaries face. If you are interested in having a chat with us, contact the team today.
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