Stonehouse Action 4 Youth
A Better Future for Young People
This Local Youth Forum Group currently meets on average every 2 weeks, as follows:
Day: Thursday
Time: 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Venue: Old Ends Lane Pavilion (Not the Pod)
Contact: steve.miles@stroud.gov.uk / 07896 690140
The following young people are SDYC representatives for Stonehouse Action 4 Youth:
Charlie Hayward (Voting)
How We Were Created…a quick bit of history!
Young people in Stonehouse began to have a recognised voice in their community and had representation to Stroud District Youth Council (SDYC) in 2009. The name of this group was Voice of Young Stonehouse (VoYS).
VoYS was mainly facilitated by youth workers from Gloucestershire County Council. However, through the demise of the county youth service, the development of this group slowed down until Stroud District Council’s youth work strategy was approved in 2012.
Efforts to re-invigorate such a group were pursued and the latter part of 2012 welcomed the creation of Stonehouse Action 4 Youth (SHA4Y). With support from local youth work providers and the input from members of Stroud District Youth Council (SDYC) who were representing their respective schools on SDYC at the time and living in or near the town, this local youth forum group gradually became established through their promotion and advocacy of the power of youth voice.
During the initial stages of SHA4Y’s development, the main issue of concern for young people in Stonehouse was the lack of a dedicated youth centre – the former building had been closed over a decade prior. This absence became the main focus of SHA4Y for the next year or so.
Consultation designed and led by SHA4Y with and for young people in the area, plus close working relationships with Stonehouse Town Council, led to the creation of a dedicated youth centre on Oldends Lane Recreation Field in 2013 – this was affectionately named The Pod, from which youth work provision is still delivered from today.
Who We Are
Like the other local youth forum groups in the Stroud district, we enable young people from the aforementioned local community to come together and have a say on issues of concern to all young people between 11 and 18 years. We work on influencing such changes that benefit young people and their communities – we believe young people should have a prominent place in the shaping of current and future places, spaces and services.
As with the other local youth forum groups in the Stroud district regarding their communities, we are constantly looking for the views and opinions of all young people that either live in or visit Stonehouse and the surrounding areas that we represent.
We are a friendly group, that meet on average every two weeks – if you would like to join us, we would love to have you on board…please get in touch (see contact details or click here).
We are supported by the youth work team at Stroud District Council.
Our Projects
Our work over the last few years has focused on a variety of projects.
Having been consulted on the potential development of the (old) Ship Inn site next to the canal, we are now (post covid pandemic) looking to re-establish our active involvement with how this space is developed to benefit young people.
Transport is always an issue of concern for us and the local campaign to re-open an old train station on the Gloucester to Bristol line, is one we have considered and now support.
We are often asked to take part in consultation for various projects and programmes, but we also develop our own methods to gain the views of other young people in our communities. We also participate in local events to support others.
There’s always lots going on in the area and we strive to ensure we represent a youth voice on these things.
We are now planning our programme of action for the year ahead, why not come and join us!?
If you don’t want to join but you’ve got something you’d like the group to discuss or work towards you can let us know here.
All our Local Youth Forum Groups offer you the opportunity to become a Youth Voice Representative on the Stroud District Youth Council, you can find out more here.