and now

After the success of our Bebo pages as a way of staying in touch with young people and sharing photos from Purple Bus activities we have decided to use another social networking site ‘Facebook’ to do more of the same. Some love Bebo, some love Facebook so we thought we would use both! If you are a fellow ’social networker’ then click here to find us on Facebook. If you have any comments or questions about our website our social networking sites or about internet safety then please get in touch via this website.

It’s been a while since the last post so it must be time for an update! Well half term has seen the Purple Bus or ‘Gerty’ as we call her, have her annual service. John and his team at CDC vehicle depot have given Gerty the once over and she is all ready for another half term rumbling around the County.

This terms projects are going well with young people in Fittleworth, Amberley and Rogate all enjoying the Purple Bus. We have been looking at a wide range of issues during Purple Bus sessions, from bullying and healthy eating to sexual health and drug misuse.

Plans are being made for our Spring terms’ programme when we will hopefully have another member of the team so that we can operate on a Wednesday evening too.

This video brought a lump to my throat see what you think.

After a few hassles with leaky roofs and generators we are finally up and running this term. We are returning to Fittleworth on Monday nights off to Amberley on Tuesdays and filling in at Rogate while they look for someone to run their club. We would normally being off out on Wednesday evening too but we are currently one staff member down and trying to fill the post asap. If you or anyone you know would be suited to rural mobile youth work then get on touch!

Some pictures from our week away this summer. This was a multi agency project led by English Heritage which gave ten young people an amazing opportunity to explore conservation and gain new knowledge and skills.

Well they don’t go anywhere at the moment actually. Our current Purple Bus (it’s a bit like Doctor Who, it regenerates every now and again!) has been having a few problems. We have a leaky roof, a broken TV and a generator that doesn’t work! These problems have all presented themselves in the last few weeks and we are working to try and get the Bus back on the road ASAP Purple Bus.

We have been able to start our work in Rogate thanks to an extension lead through the Village Hall window! Unfortunately we have not been able to start in Fittleworth and Amberley yet but hope to do so soon.

So not the best start to the new term and our new projects but from here on in the only way is up (hopefully!) and we’ll go on to have a successful term.

We are proud to have a great team of youth workers on the Purple Bus. Unfortunatly we are now one great youth worker down! Stuart has left the team as he plans to move house soon. Stuart worked in Wisbrough Green, Partridge Green and at Brinsbury college. He was a great asset to the team with his specialist knowledge of drugs misuse and fun loving approach to his work. He’ll be missed.

He didn’t always look this mad, honestly!

Good news! The new youth club at Washington starts on Monday 8th September from 7pm until 9pm. Staff on the Purple Bus worked with local young people, the parish council and colleagues in the youth service to get a new club started for the young people in Washington. The group were successful in applying for funding through the Youth Opportunity Fund as well as raising money and awareness at their village day. This will buy used to buy new equipment and resources for the group.

The world has changed and many young people are changing it! The use of social networking sites is nothing new but what is changing is that professionals are beginning to realise that sites like Flickr, Bebo, Facebook and You Tube can compliment their work with young people. It is true to say that young people and professionals need to be aware of the risks that the anonymity of the internet can raise but with careful use it can be a great way of connecting with young people, and other professionals. West Sussex Youth Services are exploring the possibilities and the boundaries of using this new technology in their work with young people.

The below video is from the MediaSnackers Website who recently put on two days of training for youth service staff. Check out their website to find out more (including what a media snacker is!.

It’s nearly the end of term and the Purple Bus has visited 6 locations with over 100 young people visiting the Purple Bus. In Washington and Partridge Green it is looking likely that a permanent youth club will be opened once we leave. We are delighted about this as both villages have some great young people who need a good youth club.

We do not run the usual weekly projects over the summer but we are taking a group of young people away on a residential trip as part of a project with English Heritage
looking at conservation. We are also working in partnership with voluntary organisations in Petworth to provide a week of summer activities for teenagers. so bring on the summer and bring on the sun!