We’re back on the road after the snow and ice of last week and we have some catching up to do! From 1st-15th of Feb young people all over the county are voting in the Youth Cabinet and UK Youth Parliament elections. Our mobile broadband ‘dongle’ arrived today and our plan is for the young people in Northchapel to be able to vote online tonight!

To find out more click on the images above.

Tonight’s Purple Bus session due to take place in Pulborough is cancelled due to the severe weather forecast for tonight. Much as we like Pulborough we’d rather not be stranded there for the night! See you all next week.

Another new term and another exciting start for the Purple Bus this term. We return to Northchapel on Monday nights as they are still without any permanent youth provision, Pulborough on Tuesday evenings whilst they have a burst water pipe fixed in their youth club. We are still in the process of setting up a club in Cowfold so that’s where we are on a Wednesday evening and similarly on a Thursday evening we will continue to visit Rogate until a new club leader is settled in post.

We are looking forward to meeting and new young people this term and have a packed programme full of activities and opportunities. One feature of this terms programmes will be the The UK Youth Parliament elections. Click here for more on how West Sussex young people can get involved.

Much of our work on the Purple Bus is focussed on enableing young people to make healthy choices in life. Topics from healthy eating to sex & relationships and alcohol and drugs misuse are all covered during our terms work. We know that Christmas can end in misery for some as Statistics show that the Christmas season sees an increase in drink-driving, unplanned pregancy and alcolhol related health problems. So the key to a happy and safe Christmas is to drink in moderation and know your limit. Click on the image to access the NHS units calculator and find out how much you consume! Remember it takes one hour for evey one unit to leave your body.

As you can see Purple Bus project manager Jonny Welch has had a new addition to his family. Mum and baby Noah are both well. Purple Bus projects will continue as follows; Monday nights in Fittleworth will continue with Dean and Dan at the helm, similarly Tuesdays in Amberley will carry on with Andy and Gemma. Wednesday night will switch to the Snack Wagon in Cowfold and Thursday nights in Rogate are suspended until December 4th.

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.