Season 2 Episode 6 Steve Blower and Sidewalk, Scarborough

Hello and welcome to season 2 of the Jenni Talks podcast. In this season we are going to focus on conversations with people about creating new opportunities, communities and spaces for young people & youth workers to engage with as a result of the pandemic.

I have written a book called From Isolation to Community: Youth Work in the Covid Era and Beyond that is available now. In it I have recorded the stories of many people working with young people across the UK during the pandemic, we will be hearing from some of these same youth workers but also from others who I’ve come across who are doing some amazing things to engage, enable and encourage young people to really thrive despite all the restrictions that have been put on us in these pandemic times.

You can buy the book by going to my website www.jenniosborn.org and clicking on one of the options there.

One of my passions has been supporting those who work with young people and this was part of the aim of the book, to showcase and reflect on the work that’s happening up and down the country. I also offer mentoring for youth workers, regular sessions over a 6 month period to support youth workers in their roles, acting as a sounding board, as an encourager to make small changes or to think different things through. If you’re interested in mentoring or having conversations about the themes from the book then I am available for book clubs, for resourcing and reflecting with your team or for encouraging youth workers to consider the impact of this pandemic and how we can move forward. You can get in touch via the website.

This episode is a conversation with Steve Blower from Sidewalk in Scarborough. Their story of youth work during the pandemic features in the book and it was one that really stood out to me, in particular Steve’s use of the phrase Wilderness Prophets, I found this a really powerfully positive image of young people and I’m really pleased that I’ve started to hear it a bit more widely even since this conversation was recorded.

Again for this conversation I adopted the slightly different style so the next voice you’ll hear is Steve’s explaining how the need for change during the pandemic has meant they have been working much more collaboratively with other organisations and how that has impacted them as a charity.

I hope you enjoy this conversation and don’t forget to share!

You can contact Steve via the Sidewalk Facebook page www.facebook.com/SidewalkYouthProject or website www.sidewalk-scarborough.com You can buy his Grove Book from www.grovebooks.co.uk search for Y59

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