A group of young people have helped restore a garden area back to its original beauty.

Locally based Bangor Street Community Centre, sent out an appeal for help to sustain their centre for the betterment of the wider community. At Child Action Northwest (CANW) they provide a service of Statutory Reparation partnered by Blackburn with Darwen Youth Justice Service; working alongside communities, police and young people to break the cycle between adversity and anti-social behaviour. They answered the call and worked to restore the centre’s garden area by jet washing the entrance, painting the disabled walkway and stepping forward to continue their support by painting some of the indoor community rooms. Upon completion of this indoor restoration work, the local community will be able to use the spaces for both educational and wellbeing purposes.

Children and young people were given the opportunity of paying back to the community by way of carrying out Reparation work.

The centre is managed by Bangor Street Limited; a non-profit company who look to promote the cultural and educational development of young people; including their physical education through sporting activities. The centre is proud to play host to a number of Lancashire’s most active community organisations.

Reparation Worker at CANW, Trevor Hannon, said:

‘’We work with a child first-  trauma informed led approach, by understanding that a child’s early-life experiences can have a profound impact on how they view and see the world. This means that a traumatic moment or series of moments, regardless of what developmental stage it occurs at, can go on to impact a child’s behaviour in a number of different and varied ways.

Giving children and young people new skills and educating them around the consequences of their behaviour is extremely rewarding both personally and for the wider communities that we serve. It is very much a group effort between us at CANW , Blackburn with Darwen Youth Justice Service and the hosts from Bangor Street.”

Ali Hussain, Centre Manager at Bangor Street Community Centre said:

“A huge thank you to the team for clearing a large section of our community garden and space around the building. The centre is used by hundreds of people each week and the community garden will soon be used as part of a day care centre for the elderly in the coming months. The team have been really professional and have made a huge difference to the centre. We have had a lot of positive feedback from our attendees.”

The opportunities for development are endless with this site where already raised beds have been established, with the intention of planting flowers and giving the garden a sensory experience for everyone to enjoy. Bringing people together using the power of nature to inspire, heal and make people happy.

 

Learn More about CANW Youth Justice