During lockdown, I noticed how many folk were putting out unwanted stuff for the taking. So I decided to put out our excess plants. They all went! I enjoyed doing this so much, that I thought I would continue, but to ask for donations to Viva. I had just retired and had slipped into depression. […]
Tag: Oxford
A lifeline for struggling families
The last 12 months have been especially tough for parents with young children. Viva’s Charlotte Pearson-Miles shares the stories of two individuals, and the larger-scale collaborative impact of a new Early Years Network in Oxfordshire. I’d like to frame this story with two sets of neighbours. Neighbours with young children. The first family moved in […]
Lie low to the wall
As lockdown drags on and deepens, Youth worker Hannah Woods says we all need to create safe spaces for ourselves and our loved ones. As we started Lockdown 3.0, I was filled with so many emotions (I’m sure we all were!) Then school closures were announced. Anxiety, fear, claustrophobia – the thought of home schooling […]
Known and accepted
BY CHARLOTTE PEARSON-MILES One unexpected silver lining of moving our Oxford-based youth work online has been the greater contact we’ve had with parents (who have had to fill out parental consent forms and help children access our Zoom groups safely). Pre-lockdown, much of Doorsteps’ youth work took place via school. We were well placed to […]
Matt’s story
Walking alongside and empowering a young person is an invested journey, with plenty of ups and downs, says youth worker Hannah Woods. During library lessons, I regularly read with young people to get to know them and identify who might benefit from youth work contact in future. It was during this time that a Year […]
My work experience: Singing and scoops
BY ELEANOR SIMPSON From singing with toddlers to eating two great big scoops of Banoffee ice cream with a local boys’ group… These are two of the events I was fortunate enough to attend run by Doorsteps, Viva’s partner network in Oxford, which creates partnerships of hope for children and young people in Oxford and […]
More than just marshmallows
BY EMMA STONEHOUSE I had the privilege of going to one of the taster sessions for next year’s Find Your Fire youth programme which starts in September. We took a group of eight young people from a local secondary school out of East Oxford and into the woodland: to make dens, whittle sticks, eat a […]
Fuelling the fire
BY MIKE MACLENNAN God blesses us, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Isn’t that an incredible truth? God has made each of us unique. Viva has partnered with others in Oxford to work to fulfil the plans God has for young people here. PIG… that was a knock to my self-esteem when I visited a […]
Mental health: helping young people flourish
BY ANDREW DUBOCK The mental health challenges of our children and young people can feel like a hopeless situation. One in eight 5 to 19 year olds has a diagnosable mental health condition, yet only a quarter of these have had contact with specialists in the past year. This statistic, released by NHS Digital in […]
Building resilience
Andy Jefferson asks: how do we protect our young people from those who would exploit them? The challenge of tackling exploitation can seem daunting. When we hear stories of young people being groomed or taken advantage of in some way, it can make our stomachs turn. And, as a youth worker, it can be heart-breaking […]