Today, Members of the county council's local committee for Barrow heard how money they granted to Barrow CAB helped towards the success of its Active Citizenship Programme.
The Active Citizenship Programme was initially a pilot exercise set up to provide young people in the area with advice and information about issues that may affect them when they leave school. A small group of year nine pupils from Walney School took part in the seven week pilot programme earlier this year focusing around issues such as homelessness, debt, equal opportunities, diversity and more.
County councillor Alan Nicholson said:
"I am delighted that the support provided by this local committee has helped make this project such a success. It was really good to hear that the students taking part found the programme thoroughly enjoyable. They were pleased to be given the chance to discuss issues which they feel are important to prepare them for leaving school. Since the project has ended other agencies have already been in contact with the CAB to see how they can become involved. This is really encouraging and lets hope many more youngsters can benefit from this programme in the future."
Pat Wilson, CAB Manager said:
"This project was great fun to do. It would not have been possible without the funding from the county council's local committee for Barrow and the help we got from Lesley Graham their community development officer. Listening to the young people has given us new ideas on how to work with teenagers in the community. Since the project ended we have started to work in schools on homeless issues and we hope to develop a financial literacy project for young people in the near future."
Check out www.barrowcitizensadvice.org.uk for more information about what services the Bureau provides.