The Voice

November 9, 2021 Guest User

This blog was written by Elizabeth Bayliss, Community Engagement Officer at Kids Inspire:

8 to 12 young people meet together every two weeks at 5pm. We sit around a table mostly although, sometimes, someone gets up to do a jig, or throw a place mat frisbee, or go and sit with the dog under the table, or sprawl on the sofa. There are always snacks: cakes, juices, crisps, occasionally pizza.

The young people range in age from 12 to 19; some have been coming for 3 or 4 years, others for a few months. They set their own ground rules, revised annually:

Take care with social media group chat between each other.
What is said in the group is confidential, not to be shared outside the group.
Be respectful of each other, be kind, and listen to each other and respect the person who is talking.
If Elizabeth, as KI facilitator, is worried about the safety of someone in the group because of something disclosed, they will raise it with others in Kids Inspire. If a member of the group is similarly worried, they should raise it with Elizabeth.
No other physical contact than holding hands.
Be respectful of any animals present, checking out with them that they are relaxed and comfortable before picking them up or handling them.

The format for our meetings is very simple. As facilitator, I take care of the process and the young ones supply all the content. Each time we meet, everyone is invited to tell the others about their week – something that happened, what they felt about it. Questions might be asked. Then the next person gets to tell. I join in with my story of the week. Out of these stories come discussion, opinions get expressed, views are shared. Often scenes in films are referred to, clips get shared. Mental health, staying healthy, taking risks, fears and nightmares, plans for future, teachers, favourite films and music, are all subjects that recur over and over. They say what they want, without censure.

The purpose of the group is to facilitate the social development of the members. Adolescence (between 10 and 24 years) is a period of life characterised by heightened sensitivity to social stimuli and the increased need for peer interaction. Studies have shown the importance of peer acceptance and peer influence in adolescence and the negative effects of social exclusion. Young people’s focus on their peers helps them develop into independent adults, fostering a more complete sense of social self-identity, plus building cognitive abilities, at the same time as building stronger affiliations with their peer group.

Apart from ensuring that everyone can get to the sessions and gets home safely afterwards, everyone gets to talk and is heard, reminding the group of the ground rules, starting and finishing on time, my job is to hold the space for the young people to relate to each other. It entails holding my tongue, acknowledging what has been said but not commenting, refraining from managing the content, so that the young people relate to each other directly, not through me. This is the key to the development process. They relate to each other, they support each other, are kind and cruel to each other, give each other direct, instant feedback; they get to develop their thoughts and change their minds with each other. They talk about what affects them, the state of their mental health, very regularly. They acknowledge the pain of being vulnerable and claim each other as real friends.

The members of the group stay in touch and if one is ill, they all wade in with loving comment; a member was recently hurt in a car crash and she was showered with kind comments on WhatsApp.

Over the past 9 months or so, some members of the group have taken part in KI public events and report having really enjoyed themselves.

The feedback from parents/guardians is that their young person has become more confident, is more outgoing.

“I was so amazed that she volunteered in town recently, it’s a HUGE achievement for her, to talk to strangers! So I wanted to pass on our thanks, she benefits so much from attending The Voice Forum”

The feedback from members includes needing less medication, being able to talk openly in the group like nowhere else, having real friends at last. Voice is seen as “a safe constant in our lives”, “our own safe place to talk about anything”, “a natural release”, “Inspirational – I get inspiration from other people here”, “a constant source of relief”, “You can offload without being judged”.

Now that some of the members are reaching young adulthood (18/19 years old), their lives are busier, with college hours overlapping with Voice hours. In order to make sure these older members continue to feel welcome and a part of Voice and Kids Inspire, even though they cannot get to meetings, we are hoping they can be involved in helping out at future KI public events and can become volunteer ambassadors, promoting positive mental health amongst their peers. For young people who have experienced Kids Inspire services from the inside to become ambassadors completes the circle well, living demonstrations of the resilience, self-awareness, and ability to build relationships that we hope our young people can achieve.

The Voice Forum

Community Engagement

Volunteering