Young people CAN make a difference

My name is Willow and I have been involved in the Youth Power Fund Programme for a year and a half. I started out at a supported housing scheme at the On Route Foyer where I was introduced to a Youth Power group called ‘Your Voice’. At this group the residents advocated for relevant change at On Route and as a result improved the living spaces. Some of the changes we made included: a pet procedure (teaching independent skills and to reduce loneliness), implementing recycling (reducing our carbon footprint) and hosting events like our Youth Power Christmas party. 

Later I was employed as Youth Power Business Admin, this became a bridge role between the staff and the residents. Over the last year of my employment I have created wellbeing poster, advertised our groups, hosted/chaired meetings for our young people and supervised activities as well as keeping admin. 

I created these pieces to celebrate the Youth Power fund and everything young people have accomplished over the last 3 years. These pieces were created using papercut, collage and digital manipulation. 

I wanted these pieces to reflect the views of all the Foyers funded Youth Power Fund programme. I was commissioned by The Foyer Federation to do four pieces and decided the first three would represent one for each year of the programme and the fourth would be an overall sum up of the project. 

"We asked the young people involved in the Youth Power Fund how they wanted to share the programme’s impact. Willow stepped up, bringing her creative talents to lead our youth-led impact collection efforts. Her dedication has been remarkable, and I’m incredibly impressed with the way Willow's propelled this work forward." – Isabella Hart-Walker, Network and Youth Engagement Manager

The first year the participants said it was about confidence building, self-discovery and laying foundations. To sum this up I called the first piece ‘GROWTH’ and built mountains as a representation of this. 

The second year was focused on collaboration, challenges and collective progress. I named this piece ‘TEAM-WORK’ and imagined a group of people sitting around a campfire and placing the mountains in the background to continue their journey of growth.