Young people’s ReRooted residential

Connection, learning and fun were the focus at the second ReRooted residential of the summer. This time it was for the young people from Foyers engaged in the programme. A mega 29 young people and staff from nine Foyers across our network came together at the two-day overnight residential at High Leigh Conference Centre in Hertfordshire.

A group of young people has been working with us over the last few months to co-produce the residential. They decided the schedule, what activities should be on offer and some even took the lead in delivering aspects of the residential themselves. They have done a fantastic job and the feedback has been brilliant!

“Honestly thank you for the opportunity to meet new people and make friends for life. Actually it’s a great scheme and I’ve loved it.”

What happened? 

From toasting marshmallows over a campfire to guided meditation workshops, and from nature and wellbeing sessions to dance and self-care, the schedule had something for everyone. The planning group wanted the residential to provide an introduction to a host of tools and techniques to support wellbeing, with attendees invited to join the workshops and sessions that appealed to them.

We were joined by Bea from States of Mind for interactive sessions on their Selfology resource, designed as a practical wellbeing curriculum for young people to take ownership of their mental health. We had workshops on self awareness, a guided meditation, as well as asking for help and anxiety.

“Loved the selfology and meditation. Thank you Bea! I really enjoyed it!”

The residential also included sessions on how trauma can impact our window of tolerance and thinking about our own grounding techniques to self sooth. Most importantly, the residential was about young people getting out of their normal environments, having a positive time and meeting new people.

What’s next? 

The last session of the residential was focused on what the young people had learnt, and action planning how to take this back to their own lives and Foyers. Each Foyer group began planning their own wellbeing initiative, event or project. We had some great ideas, including organising hiking trips, transforming the outside space at the Foyer and keeping the positive connections by visiting other services they had met at the residential. The Foyer Federation, through the ReRooted programme, will provide a grant of £250 for each foyer to deliver the young people’s wellbeing initiative. We can’t wait to hear about what this fantastic bunch do!

“Thank you for having us for the two days. It was a great experience and great opportunity… it was great meeting different people from different foyers and the activities were great too. Definitely outdid yourself, you should be proud! If I have an opportunity to come back again I’d love to be there.”

With support from UK Youth’s Thriving Minds fund and CHK, the ReRooted programme focuses on building staff and foyer’s capacity to work with young people facing multiple challenges in their lives, specifically around their mental health and wellbeing. Staff and young people’s feedback from the two residentials will shape the direction of the rest of the ReRooted programme, which is funded until May 2025. Find out more about the ReRooted’s aims here and thank you to everyone who attended.