Stonewall Young Campaigner of the Year Ben Saunders

Ben Saunders, a young person from THE Action Youth at YPAS has won Stonewall Young Campaigner of the Year.

Bestselling author Juno Dawson has awarded Ben Saunders Stonewall’s Young Campaigner of the Year. The event marked the end of this year’s Stonewall’s Young Campaigner’s Programme, which aims to empower young people to develop and run campaigns that tackle homophobia, biphobia and transphobia within their communities.

Ben, aged 17, had created a small film which featured voices from transgender people across the North West. The documentary explored the experiences and hardships faced by trans youth in schools and highlighted the importance of LGBTQ-inclusive education.

The film that played a large part of him winning the award was filmed at YPAS.  Ben also presented at Transgender Day of Visibility for GYRO and THE Action Youth, presenting his research that went in the making of the film.

Read the full article here:

https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/community/122059/juno-dawson-announces-stonewall-young-campaigner-of-the-year/#comments

 

YPAS Young Ambassador trip of a lifetime to America

YPAS Young Ambassador Adam Evans has recently returned from a trip to America as part of the Youth for Social Cohesion Program.

Adam applied and was successful with World Learning who are partners with the U.S. Embassy in London for the 2019 Program. The program took ten UK participants (18-25) to the U.S. for a 15-day exchange focused on building resilient communities to prevent violent extremism and promote hope and inclusion. During the 2019 U.S. exchange, participants visited three diverse locations – Washington, DC; Detroit, Michigan; and Chicago, Illinois – to explore topics and issues related to promoting social cohesion and to engage in discussions, sharing best practices with U.S. peers, schools and communities.

On his return to the UK Adam said:

 

“My trip was a very informative and really enjoyable experience. I feel very humbled and honoured to have been a part of the Youth Exchange on Social Cohesion 2019.

I travelled to Washington DC, Detroit, Michigan and Chicago, Illinois. During my trip, I was able to visit lots of community groups and think tanks, schools and Universities to focus on social cohesion and to tackle inequality. It was also really interesting to visit cultural landmarks such as the White House, the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington monument.

Overall, I had a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone.”

 

About World Learning: World Learning was founded 85 years ago on the belief that international exchange programs cultivate intercultural understanding and create leaders who are equipped to address the world’s most complex problems. Exchanges remain central to our mission to advance leadership and strengthen communities around the world. https://www.worldlearning.org/

 

 

 

 

Trailblazer

Twenty-four pilot primary schools have now signed up to host twelve trainee Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) and mental health leads from each school have attended a training session around making referrals into the service. The practitioners (EMPHs) will be providing low-level interventions for children showing early signs of anxiety, low-mood and mild depression. Whilst completing their training they will be working in the pilot schools, with a view to expanding into all Liverpool primary schools in January 2020. The pilot schools were selected from across the city as shown on the map below.

On Saturday 18th May 2019 GYRO (YPAS’s LGBTQ+ Youth Group) will be hosting the Art Activist and Being Proud Awards 2019 at Liverpool John Moores University Campus IM Marsh in Aigburth.

The event acknowledges the International Day Against Homo/Bi/Transphobia (17th May) and links the themes from this year’s LGBT History Month, which is Peace, Reconciliation and Activism.

This link has some detail about the event and last year’s winners (which was GYRO!):

Liverpool has reached a milestone in its ambition to become the first Unicef Child-Friendly City in the North West.

In November, following work with partner agencies and young people, the city council submitted a bid to the global children’s organisation which cemented its intentions to put young people at the heart of everything it does.

Today (Thursday 7 March), Unicef UK has officially accepted the bid.

Hundreds of children and young people from schools, clubs and youth groups across Liverpool came together to deliver a range of dramatic performances at the Epstein Theatre, exploring the subject of ‘Rise Up – Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) and Resilience.’

Liverpool has been chosen as one of 25 sites to become a trailblazer for mental health support in schools.

This exciting opportunity will further develop the partnership working that is currently taking place between Education, Local Authority, CCG and  Liverpool CAMHS Partnership. The additional capacity and funding this trailblazer will bring to the city will ensure children and young people and families are accessing support at the earliest of opportunities and more specialist provision when needed.