Fairbridge West

What does the Fairbridge Trust do nationally and locally?

Fairbridge runs personal development programmes for 13-25 year olds who are not in Education
Employment or Training. Fairbridge West is based in Stokes Croft in central Bristol and there are
currently fourteen other Fairbridge centres around the U.K, based in some of the most deprived cities.

We combine long-term personal support with practical learning
experiences to enable young people to develop personal, social and life skills. Every programme is tailored to personal needs and lasts for as long as an individual needs support; be that five weeks or five years.

We use a combination of outdoor and creative activities to challenge young people and enable them to achieve things they did not think possible.

When and why did you start up?

Fairbridge opened in Bristol 21 years ago as a response to the St Paul’s riots. We have moved offices several times but remain close to St Pauls on Stokes Croft.

Today, thousands of young people have lost hope. At Fairbridge we believe that every young person has something of value inside them. Our challenge is to help them find it.

How does your organisation benefit the wider community?

We offer young people a fresh start, someone to believe in them and a chance to prove themselves. We win the trust and commitment of young people others find difficult to engage, and our client to staff ratio of maximum 4:1 means we have a direct impact on crime, drug use and truancy in Bristol.
What are your future plans/projects in Bristol?
Fairbridge West is looking to expand in Spring 2005. We are about to pilot a national Fairbridge project to get Fairbridge further involved in the school system. We want to be able to reach young people who are at risk of exclusion before their relationship with the school breaks down completely. We will be working in partnership with the schools to keep young people in education.

How will the Every Child Matters initiative affect the way you work?

We already have stringent monitoring systems of staff, volunteers and clients because of the vulnerability of the young people who use our services. The ECM initiative has a chance to make a real difference and we hope it does.

Do you belong to any partnerships?

We take referrals from over 200 local agencies, with a large proportion of our young people being referred by schools. Others come from social services, Connexions, YOT, Probation Services and some are self-referred. We have a Connexions Buddy and work closely with them.

Who are your funders?

Over 60% of our funding is statutory, and we receive this from a wide range of sources including ESF, Connexions, Safer Bristol, the LSC and others. The remainder is from trust and corporate support.

If you had more funds what would you spend it on?

Reaching more young people. At the moment we work with 260 young people in the Bristol area each year and there are many more in need of support.

How can people contact you?

You can call us: Tel. 0117 942 5362, (for referrals ask for Angie)
You can email us: west@fairbridge.org.uk
You can visit us at: Fairbridge West, 22 Stokes Croft, St. Paul’s, Bristol, BS1.
See our national website at: www.fairbridge.org.uk

If your group would like to be profiled in a future Voscur newsletter or on our website, please contact Darron Thevarajah at the Voscur office Tel. 909 9949,
or email: darron@voscur.org