Celebrating our final year of CashBack for Communities Phase 6
The final year of CashBack for Communities Phase 6 has come to an end and therefore so has the Generation CashBack programme. As we made plans for Phase 7, the consortium reflected on the highlights and challenges of the last year.
Our development workers directly engaged with groups on the ground, supporting them through the Grow and Lead strands of Generation CashBack. This allowed workers to build strong relationships with youth work staff, volunteers and young people and deepen their understanding of the shared and individual challenges each of our member groups face.
Across the consortium, an increasing amount of young people are experiencing poverty and inequality, lack of mental health support and lack of employment opportunities. The anxiety and hopelessness these barriers create are further exacerbated by geopolitical instability and constant exposure to global crisis through the news and media. Therefore, our collective effort has been focused on supporting our member groups to provide a safe space for young people where they can develop their skills and broaden their horizons.
This has involved supporting groups through our Grow strand to access capacity building support and funding to enhance their delivery offer. Generation CashBack’s Lead strand was to develop young people’s resilience and confidence, supporting them to recognise their value and creating opportunities to build connections with their peers.
Some key achievements of year one have been:
- 2,690 young people report that they feel less inclined to participate in antisocial and/or criminal behaviour
- 34,723 hours of volunteering contributed by participants
- 2,615 young people report their mental health has improved and they have a more positive outlook on life
- 2,693 young people report positive, supportive networks – including improved relationships with family, friends and peer mentors