Practical skills for life
East Dunbartonshire opens doors for homeless young people through the Canal Project, providing accommodation and unusual support activities to help them move on to a positive future.
NCH Scotland, in partnership with East Dunbartonshire Council, has run the Canal project for over two years, offering residential help to young people aged 16 to 21 who need support to move on to permanent accommodation locally. The project offers bed spaces in a range of handsome self-contained flats, where young people are encouraged to learn and practise independent living skills before moving on to independent lives.
Support workers offer advice and guidance, promoting self-esteem by helping young people establish structured patterns of daily living and take responsibility for their lives. But as well as counselling, housing support and practical assistance the project offers its residents unusual choices. Two talented support workers take young people beyond learning practical tenancy skills like wallpapering, tiling, how to use a power mower safely, to teach them art, joinery and woodworking. Tables, jewelled mirrors, garden benches emerge from Canal workshops. Gerry McGinty, Project Manager, told us, 'Young people buy into this idea. It gives them a chance to complete something, sometimes for the first time in their lives. They're treated as adults, they're valued, and they respond.'
Gerry added, 'Helping vulnerable young people isn't just about Benefits. It's about learning skills for life. They cherish the building. They have their own space here. It makes a huge difference.'
In partnership with the Fairbridge Project, which works in disadvantaged areas across the UK to give young people motivation and confidence to change their lives, Canal offers even bigger challenges. One young girl, supported by the project, fund-raised and travelled to Africa to live in a tent and help locals. 'We encourage young people to be alive, take opportunities, and value their awareness,' Gerry said. 'Those are life skills that will last, we hope, for a long time.'
The Canal Project has attracted a lot of attention. For more on Canal contact Gerry McGinty on 0141 776 5277.