Picture courtesy of East Anglian Daily
Times
Since opening last year the Suffolk Young People's
Health Project has been providing a vital service to the young
people of Ipswich. But, in order to ensure a secure future
for the project, a robust business plan is required, and Business
Link for Suffolk is working with the team at the charity to provide
just that.
SUFFOLK Young People's Health Project finally opened its doors on
June 28, 2004.
It had been a long time in the planning but at the triumphant
launch event, attended by two Ipswich Town footballers and bursting
to the seams with excited young people, it was soon clear that the
long years of working to find the support and finance had been
worthwhile.
Extensive research on young people's health needs in Suffolk in the
last 1990's had discovered an alarming gap between the requirements
of young people for good health advice, and their ability to
access such advice through traditional health services. Many
young people were not discussing sexual, alcohol, drug and
psychological problems with anyone because they lacked the
self-esteem, confidence and family support structures to approach
health professionals, "explains Dawn Henry, Chief Executive of the
project.
"The conclusion was that a 'one stop shop' of services directed at
and involving young people in a safe, comfortable environment was
what was required."
Now, more than a year since the launch, 500 young people a month
are using the centre which is shared with partner organisations who
also cater for young people's health and social welfare.
Funded by the National Lottery Project, the charity is financed
through to October 2008, and after that date it will need to become
self-sufficent, raising funds through the private sector and
through social enterprise.
"Getting the project off the ground was a major job, " says Dawn."
But now we are up and running we need to ensure that we are
prepared for the next stage of development and the forthcoming
challenges of becoming self-funding.
"We became involved with Business Link for Suffolk through
Investors in People. Our adviser, Vanessa Porter, was the
driving force behind us achieving the award.
" We had the right procedures in place but Vanessa was able to
guide us through the process, helping us with the application and
making sure that we completed it quickly and efficiently".
Vanessa believes that Investors in People is a valuable award for
any charity. "Achieving the standard demonstrates good working
practices which is an important element of successful grant
applications," she says.
"The Suffolk Young People's Project has a team of eight working at
the centre, together with lots of volunteers and young people on
work placements.
"The staff development and assessment procedures they operate are
extremely good, so they were able to achieve Investors in People
quickly.
"The one element that we did identify that required attention was
the business plan which had originally been put in place to gain
funding and set the centre up.
"Now the project is up and running, a new plan is
required to take the charity into the next stage of
development.
"The first step towards this will be to put the charity through a
Business Performance Diagnostic which will benchmark it
against other similar not-for-profit organisations.
" Having identified strengths and weaknesses, we will then be in a
better position to work with Dawn and her team towards preparing a
really positive business plan to ensure the future viability and
sustainability of the project."
The centre manager, Cherry Finch, is determined that the business
plan should respond to the changing market and reflect the wishes
of the young people themselves.
"The needs of young people are becoming more widely recognised in
today's world," she says.
"Here, young people have been involved in informing and shaping our
service, and they will also be crucial in developing the social
enterprise we need as a major part of our fund-raising
programme".
Asking young people to become involved rather than simply
consulting them for their views is not an easy option.
Their responses are sometimes erratic and they can be slow to
deliver their work.
However Cherry is convinced that it is an important part of the
service. "Young people's ideas are often more dynamic and
original." she says. "Also, through contributing to their
project they are helping to develop their own decision-making
skills and building their confidence."
As the project prepares for a busy Christmas and an increasing
crowd of service users in the New Year, Dawn, Cherry and the team
are determined that their vision for providing health advice to the
young people of Ipswich should be continued and the benefits rolled
out across the county.
Vanessa Porter and the Business Link for Suffolk team are
determined to help them achieve their aim.
Extract taken from East Anglian Daily Times - Tuesday,
December 20,
2005 | |