YOUTH ADVOCATE

Youth Empowerment Programmes

I’m extremely passionate about using the performing arts as a form of self-empowerment and helping people understand their therapeutic benefits. I’ve been running workshops on an adhoc basis since 2008. I used the arts as my escape growing up, it became the only place I truly felt safe so I wanted to recreate this for others. What started off as a low cost Summer School in 2014 with 8 students, later evolved into CAMLondon, a multidisciplinary hub for young people and vulnerable adults teaching stage skills and life skills including employability skills. I designed and delivered every programme and self funded everything using personal funds or earnings from my professional singing career. The stats below are my own, working in deprived London Boroughs like Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Southwark, I later secured a contract with 2Inspire which became a permanent residence for over 4 years.

Number of Sessions Taught

Number of Participants

Number of Attendances

Number of Vulnerable Adults Helped

NUMBER OF TUTORS TRAINED

Youth Empowerment Stage School

The Stage Academy – (8-16 year olds)

Our services help young people to design their own future by empowering them to make smarter life choices. Our sessions help them build their resilience, confidence, life skills, soft skills, communication skills and so much more.

Why Performing Arts?

The performing arts offer an invaluable array of life skills and learning outcomes for young people including: confidence, enhanced verbal/written communication, self analysis and independence, public speaking and presentation skills, negotiation and handling rejection, building relationships and empathy, dealing with confrontation and conflict, offers opportunity for giving and receiving positive feedback as well as being a great way to make new friends and a forum for fun & laughter. Without the arts I wouldn’t be who I am today

– Scarlet

Drama Workshops

Drama is an important part of stimulating creativity and problem solving. It challenges students perceptions about themselves and the world around them. It’s a safe outlet for emotions and exploration as students become authors, often re-writing events through role play, once the event is played out in front of them, they have a better idea of the paths they should or should not choose in life. Drama is an important part of child development and I am proud to include it in our work at CAM London.

Singing Workshops

“Singing has psychological benefits because of its normally positive effect in reducing stress levels through the action of the endocrine system which is linked to our sense of emotional well-being. Psychological benefits are also evident when people sing together as well as alone because of the increased sense of community, belonging and shared endeavour.”

– Professor Graham Welch (Chair of Music Education at the Institute of Education at the University of London)

TESTIMONIALS

“As the parent it was nice to know the techniques that the children had started to learn about, the performance was excellent”

Sonia, parent, Summer School 2014

“I thought the drama lessons were really useful because they taught me things I hadn’t actually done at school or at previous drama things, even 5 years ago, I learnt stuff now that I didn’t know then and it kind of helped me, it made me step more out of my comfort zone” Karl, 16, Drama Workshops, Bermondsey

Centre for Public Health Research, 2006

Young people reported that their engagement with the performing arts also impacted on a wide range of outcomes such as relieving stress, calming down, dealing with criticism and managing their own emotions

The Life Academy – (18- 25 year olds)

As well as our Self-Empowerment Stage Academy we deliver bespoke workshops that help companies develop their youth or adult programmes. Our ‘Success Workshops’ tackle some of the issues that limit the potential of young people including self-hate, lack of employability skills and unrealistic perceptions of life. Issues are explored through engaging activities, thought provoking discussions and straight talking home truths! We empower young people by challenging their current perceptions and exposing the value of making great life choices. Est. 2012

Just wanted to let you know that I thought the handout you came up with was great; J.H was very grateful to receive his copy, he and others thought your workshop was excellent.

The information given covers the session comprehensively, and is clear and easy to follow, so thanks again.

Tom Andrews – Self Advocacy Manager, CoolTan Arts

Unfortunately the young people didn’t take to the last company we had in... Your work is so engaging, I’ve still got young people singing your praises, you focus on their reality and deal with it accordingly, you’re more of a holistic allrounder which had a greater impact.

Malika Wilson-Miur – Housing Manager, Look Ahead Support and Care

MY HOPe FOR THE FUTURE…

“The social issues in poorer areas are real, they destroy lives, we need to work together to fix this. It’s my mission to help young people and other families avoid such destruction. My life could have been so different without the performing arts to keep me safe and sane. I single handedly turned my life around through hard work and sheer determination – My kids will NOT go through what I did. I believe in prevention rather than cure and aim to undo the generational damaging life cycles before they begin. Now I’m older I realise it’s not just poorer people with issues and unhealthy perspectives. More privileged adults are now suffering with low self esteem, anxiety, depression, drug abuse, to numb the pain of a past they didn’t have, the love they didn’t receive the self worth they didn’t develop. Now more than ever we need to start retraining the minds of our young people so they can flourish as confident, self sufficient, resilient and HAPPY adults.

CAM LONDON WORK HAS HAD TO STOP – Funding, support, resources….If you are able to help us revive it please get in touch. Corporate sponsorship, programme partnerships, fundraising bid writers, project managers…..I still keeps in touch with my ‘kids’