A popular Birmingham community centre with limited indoor space has seen their fortunes change after a group of young unemployed people transformed their disused and overgrown grounds.
The Ashiana Community Project in Sparkhill, which supports and engages the local community on a daily basis, has welcomed the renovation by twelve young people completing the Prince’s Trust Programme at Solihull College.
Prince’s Trust Team 145 took two weeks to create a family and child-friendly, interactive green space, to be used by the centre for a wide range of activities. The team of students fitted 160sqm of decking, including a stage to be used for events. They also created a garden and small allotment with a view of it being maintained and enjoyed by the whole community. The Team finished the project by putting their Prince’s Trust stamp on the garden by decorating a disused container with graffiti art (see photo).
Shabana Qureshui, Women Empowerment Worker at the Project comments: “The physical change of the space is amazing; we now have accessibility for young people and for the whole community, which is structured green space. From now on we will be holding more family days and events for women in the community who can be socially isolated”?.
The group of students, who range from 16-25 years of age, enter the 12-week programme at the College in order to gain work-ready skills and the confidence to find employment. Many of the young people who enter the Prince’s Trust 12-week Team programme are in or leaving care, facing issues such as homelessness or mental health problems, or they have been in trouble with the law.
Chris Brueton, Prince’s Trust Coordinator at the College comments: “This project is an incredible achievement and I am impressed with the way the students have met this challenge. This is one of the biggest projects I have seen and the Team should be very proud of their efforts. It is great not only to see the difference and benefit to the local community, but also the positive impact it has already had upon the students and their self-confidence”.
The Prince’s Trust helps 58,000 disadvantaged young people nationally every year. Three-in-four students who are supported by the College’s Prince’s Trust team move into education, employment or training.
To find out more about the Prince’s Trust Programme at Solihull College, please visit our Prince’s Trust pages or call 0121 678 7000
