Kate Griffiths MP visited YMCA Burton last week to see the vast array of services on offer to her East Midlands constituents.
The first port of call was the YMCA Furniture shop on Borough Road where she saw how their staff and volunteers take in used quality items, donated by the generous public and get them ready to be marketed and sold to raise funds for the charity. Kate saw how members of the public can get reasonably priced goods to help make their house a home and meet the people working in the shops and on the vans delivering and collecting goods.
The next building they visited was one of their young people’s housing sites where, residents aged between 18 and 30 years are accommodated and, with the assistance of a support worker, are able to help rebuild their lives and learn new skills to be able to, eventually move on to independent living. Kate heard how through their Youth Participation and Shine projects, the young people are able to build their confidence and learn coping mechanisms to help them with their futures.
After the young people’s housing site, they moved onto Reconnect; YMCA Burtons flagship site which houses residents from the age of 18 to 64. This site also has the foodbank, counselling, mediation, homelessness services and outreach projects. Kate heard how people can come and use the shower and laundry facilities and lounge area to get a hot drink and meal each day and how the Outreach team look for rough sleepers to let them know the services which they can use. Kate was impressed with the kind donations received at the foodbank over the festive period and volunteers who helped to keep the stock sorted and rotated ready to give out to people in need. The tour ended with visit to a resident’s flat and she heard about the support clients receives during their stay with YMCA Burton.
Paul Laffey, Chief Executive said: “It was great to invite Kate Griffiths MP to visit the YMCA. She got to meet staff and volunteers and hear all about our services. Staff were able to update Kate on the growing demand for all of the YMCA Services and had a lot of questions for the staff and it was good to be able to talk to her about our 135th anniversary taking place this year.”
Kate Griffiths MP said: “I am very grateful to YMCA Burton’s CEO, Paul Laffey, for recently giving me such a comprehensive tour of a number of their local support centres and programmes in the town. The work of our local YMCA supports some of the most vulnerable people in our community.
"The passion and dedication amongst the staff and volunteers to help those with complex needs get back on track came across consistently at all their sites. I have said many times that we have an incredible network of support organisations in Burton and the YMCA is very much a cornerstone of that network.”
YMCA Burton celebrates 135 years of service to their local community this year and will be hosting some celebratory events. If you would like to know more about their services, or ways in which you can support them, visit their website on www.burtonymca.org
About Burton and District YMCA
The YMCA is the largest and oldest youth charity in the world. We believe that all young people deserve to have a safe place to live and the opportunity to reach their full potential. In Burton and the surrounding we are working to:
- Prevent youth homelessness by helping families to resolve conflicts and by sharing with young people the realities of living away from home
- Provide rooms or flats for young people who leave home, giving them the support they need
- Offer temporary emergency rooms for adults of any age who face homelessness, plus support to change their situation
- Provide emergency food for those with none
- Pass on donated furniture and tested electrical goods at remarkably affordable prices throughout Burton, Derby and South Derbyshire
- Encourage tolerance and dialogue between local people from different cultures and faiths
The Burton YMCA’s charity core work and principal activities are to benefit the public and communities through Supported Housing, Outreach, Foodbank, Chaplaincy, Family Mediation, Furniture Re-distribution and Counselling.
More details about Burton upon Trent YMCA can be found at www.burtonymca.org.
