- ENGAGEMENT - Having a Go
As young people get to know us they are more likely to get involved in project work. Projects are generally themed around young people’s issues and are generally short term. However some have evolved, for example HYPE (details below) into more long-term services capable of bringing in additional funding for the group. As well as homelessness, over the past few years Shaidy Characters have tackled subjects such as mental health, perceptions of antisocial behaviour, youth crime, teenage pregnancy and sexual health.

Involvement in project work raises the aspirations of participants, new skills are learned and people start to realise their own potential. This new found confidence often has a major effect on an individual’s personal development and can be the first step into training or employment.

HYPE – Homeless Young People’s Education
In 2004 the young people produced the film HYPE, which highlights the problems young people face when leaving home and then developing workshop activities around the film. For a number of years the film has been used as an educational tool in schools and other youth work settings reaching hundreds of young people in Derwentside. Consultation with young people and also professional workers through SPEAKOUTS led to further developments when a lack of understanding about young people’s experiences was identified. In November 2007 the young people delivered training to front line workers from various organisations, such as Connexions, Health and Social Care and many other agencies working with this age group. The group designed a daylong workshop, which focused on the reality of homelessness and using their own experiences to put a different point of view of how services should respond.

DIY Project
In April 2005 SHAID moved into new premises at the Tommy Armstrong Centre. The new offices were much bigger than the previous place and everyone was happy to have space. Unfortunately the waiting area became a dumping ground for bits and pieces brought across from the previous office (in case they came in handy - but they never did!) It became a wasted space and a depressing place. So we set to work raising funds to do the place up and create a pleasant environment for service users, visitors (and staff!) to feel relaxed and welcome. We were successful in an application to the Sherburn Trust, and this is what followed:

Looking at colour charts, measuring walls, visiting IKEA (far too many times!), getting ideas from magazines, arguing about design ideas (mainly fairy lights), scrubbing, sand-papering, filling in loads of holes with plaster, painting, more painting, trying to blag a discount from IKEA (no luck there!), putting together flat pack furniture, hanging doors, hitting thumbs with hammers, swearing, painting again, taking stuff back to IKEA because we picked up the wrong packet first time, and a little bit more painting… And finally, after all the blood, sweat and tears we finished the job with a formal launch and open day.

Bogus Callers
In 2006 Shaidy Characters were approached by Duncan Barnett from Derwentside Rural Crime Initiative who wanted to work with us on a filmmaking project. Duncan had first met the group at our first SPEAKOUT. The young people worked alongside older members of the community to produce a short training video, warning of the dangers of distraction burglary so that people can learn how to deal with strangers who knock at their door and then try to get in to steal things.  We came up with a storyline that turn the head on the idea that only elderly people are victims, as you can see from the picture, although in the end we though it was unwise to encourage elderly ladies to tackle young lads with their walking sticks! This was an excellent example of partnership working, with an original soundtrack from Duncan’s band and Duncan was so impressed with the group later that year he joined SHAID’s Board of Trustees.

FUNdaMENTAL
FUNdaMENTAL was initially a yearlong project in partnership with County Durham Primary Care Trust. The group were approached by the PCT on the basis of their past successes to develop a project to raise awareness of mental health issues with young people and help them to develop appropriate coping strategies for stress. After a year of trial therapies researched and evaluated by young people the project was funded for a second year in 2008 and a stress reduction workshop has now been developed and delivered to other young people through local schools.

LADS – Love, Affection, Desire, Sex
In 2007/8 the young people were funded by the local Teenage Pregnancy Action Group to carry out a project with young men and boys and the result was LADS, a short semi-animated film where the young participants discuss their own attitudes towards sex and its associated emotions. Although the project also involves "lasses" we were very successful in engaging "lads" to talk openly about their feelings, so the name and the focus of the project has stuck. A second film is now underway moving on to look at some of the consequences of sexual relationships. Again we have interviewed young dads and mums, who talk openly about their experience, and the pros and cons of becoming a parent and the film was previewed at a PCT event on 9th October 2008, where we were approached to make another short film focusing on sexual health, thus completing the “trilogy”.