Y-Base Magazine
created for you, by you
Designed and produced by YMCA England in
partnership with the National Tenant Forum.
Inside
Buddying
Footie
Africa Comes Home
Stats Invaders
Thanks to Dartford YMCA for this
amazing front cover image
TWO Winter 09
Editor’s message Y-Base
W e l c o m e t o t h es e c o n d e d i t i o no f Y - B a s e , t h em a g a z i n e c r e a t e db y a n d f o r y o u n gp e o p l e l i v i n g i nY M C A E n g l a n da c c o m m o d a t i o n .
p2
Hi, my name is Peter and I live at Southend YMCA. Eventhough I have only been there for a short time, the staffhave helped me get more involved in the YMCA.Before coming to the Y, I was living at home and I wentfor an interview for a Prince’s Trust programme. Theysuggested I fill in an application form for the housingdepartment and I was invited to move into theYMCA. I have since joined in with lots of activities and I have also joined the National
Tenant Forum where I got the opportunity to become theYouth Editor of Y-Base Magazine. Without the help of YMCA
staff I would not have had the chance to improve myself and makefriends in the YMCA. Enjoy the magazine and if you have any comments please emailSally Draper from YMCA England at [email protected].
Peter Page, Youth Editor
This issue sees the debut of our first
Youth Editor, Peter Page from Southend
YMCA, and features articles written by
residents from Mansfield, Darlington and
Southend YMCAs. And don’t forget to
check out Stats Invaders, which gives
you the low down on our housing
performance.
We’re always looking for young people
who are brimming with ideas. So why not
show the world your artistic side by
becoming a contributor to Y-Base
Magazine? We need all things creative –
from photos and articles to paintings,
graffiti and doodles. So what are you
waiting for? Get involved.
We show them the kitchen and explain
how the cookers work, when the Sunday
lunch sessions are run and which staff
are the best cooks. We talk about the
education side of things, explain how
that’s part of our agreement when we
move in and how staff will make sure we
do something educational.
Pointing out the activities sheet and the
noticeboards lets them see what’s
happening – there are lots of fun activities
to take part in such as youth sessions,
football, budgeting (that helps us spread
our money a bit further!) and the computer
sessions in the evenings when we can
look for jobs, find flats or just play games.
Everyone needs to know about the area
they’re living in so we talk about that too:
where to get cheap groceries, which are
the best clubs, the safe and unsafe areas
and lots of general info.
We think our buddying is going well
because it helps make new residents feel
welcome and at home. We’d like to think if
ever we moved to another YMCA people
would do the same for us.
Leonie and Suzanne ,
Mansfield YMCA Buddies
Why not try this at your YMCA? If you
already have a buddying programme at
your YMCA, let us know what you
think of it.
Email: [email protected].
Editor’s note: Leonie and Suzanne have
now moved on from Mansfield YMCA. We
would like to wish them the very best for
the future.
BuddyingY-Base p3
Moving into a YMCA for the first time
can be a bit scary. But residents at
Mansfield YMCA have set up a
buddying system to help new people
feel at home. Here, Leonie and
Suzanne explain more.
When people move into Mansfield YMCA,
staff show them around and do ‘the formal
stuff’ (paperwork, rules, health and safety
etc). Our role as Buddies is much more fun.
We make a point of meeting the new folks
when they move in; knocking on their door
and offering to show them around from a
resident’s point of view. We also introduce
them to everyone so they can put names
to faces. This makes new people feel more
at ease and it’s wicked giving them the
low down on the staff.
A h e l p i n g h a n d
Community Project Y-Basep4
I n M a y , r e s i d e n t sf r o m D a r l i n g t o nY M C A r o l l e d u pt h e i r s l e e v e sa n d g o t s t u c ki n t o a c o m m u n i t yp r o j e c t f o r t h eW i l d l i f e T r u s t .
B r i n H o
To explain more, here is Jonathon New
who took part in the project.
On Friday 15 May we helped the Tees
Valley Wildlife Trust at Margrove Heritage
Centre to develop its African themed
garden by building roundhouses. Only a
handful of young people went, probably
because of the weather because it didn’t
stop raining. When we arrived we had a
look at what we’d got ourselves into and
put on our personal protective equipment
which made us look very sexy!
We left the building and walked down to
where the roundhouse was and my friends
and I got stuck straight in with the graft.
Even though at first we couldn’t under-
stand what the two guys from Eritrea in
Community ProjectY-Base p5
g i n g A f r i c a o m e
Africa were saying we picked it up very
quickly. We had a quick lunch, and then
went straight back to work, but this time
we had to lift the roof out, flip it over and
put it on properly. For this the whole group
got involved, even though you could tell
they didn’t want to because of the rain!
We stayed with the roundhouse until
2.50pm collecting wood and chopping the
branches off with a billhook (which I nearly
chopped my leg off with!). Then we went
home. We were wet through and cold but
we didn’t care as we’d had a great day
and would like to return sometime. Thanks
everyone for coming and making the day
so fabulou s. Cheers.
Jonathan New
Has your YMCA teamed up with local projects in the community?
Tell us about your experience by emailing
Footy, footy, footy - oi, oi, oi! Y-Basep6
In April this year a group of young
people got together at Southend YMCA
and formed a football team called the
Ambleside Wanderers.
The team was formed by a young person
who lives at Southend YMCA and they
train every Friday afternoon. They play in
the local conference division in Southend
and recently took part in a tournament
for a local charity where they made the
quarter finals.
The team captain, Shane Page, has
formed two teams since living at the
YMCA. He is also thinking of starting a
girls’ team.
One Southend YMCA resident said, “I think
it’s great that we have got together for fun
and exercise. Having the football team has
really helped us gain team-building skills
and self confidence. I hope other YMCAs
have the opportunity to start their own
sports teams, not just for exercise, but to
help build friendships and take part in the
local community”.
Peter Page, Southend YMCA
The Ambleside Wanderers play every
Tuesday evening. If any other YMCA
teams would like to play against
Southend, please contact Peter via
email at [email protected].
B e s t f o o t f o r w a r d –t h e A m b l e s i d e W a n d e r e r s
Message boardY-Base p7
How we’re doing Y-Basep8
Repairs
Overall, 95% of housing repairs were
completed within the set timeframes and
96% of residents that fed back on repairs
were satisfied with the work. Response
rates also increased on the last quarter,
making the feedback more meaningful..
Rent and service charges
Between January and March, we focused
on getting feedback from residents about
value for money of rent and service
charges. A quarter of residents responded
which is actually pretty good! Of those
who responded, three-quarters are
satisfied that they get value for money
and 8 out of 10 are satisfied with the
service charge.
Complaints
We aim for 100% of those who make a
complaint to be satisfied with the
procedure we have in place to handle
such situations. Between January and
March 2009 we met this target. We also
aim for 80% of those making a complaint
to be satisfied for the outcome of this –
and in the last quarter, this figure stood at
97%. While this is great, we’re still doing
all we can to increase satisfaction further…
In 2009/10, we are placing much more
emphasis on consulting residents regarding
the way we do things at the YMCA. We
understand it can be time consuming filling
in forms like this but the only way we can
make sure we are providing the sort of
service you want is by asking you! This
means you will probably be asked to fill in
feedback forms for different things such
as when you have a repair done, when
you get involved in resident forums and
other groups, if you make a complaint or
when you move on from the YMCA.
Please help us by taking a few minutes to
complete the forms – and if you need
help, just ask a member of staff.