Brayton Youth Club Expands Operations, Credited with Improving Village Behavior

A youth organization, recognized for its role in diminishing anti-social conduct within a village, intends to broaden its scope of work. The YO8 Club, located in Brayton, near Selby, was established in 2022 following repeated calls to police regarding disturbances close to the community centre where the club is now situated. Subsequently, £5,000 was secured through crowdfunding efforts to provide the club with additional space inside the centre, thereby enabling it to assist a greater number of young individuals. Matt Fisher, a community worker for the charity Up for Yorkshire, stated: “We’ve been going for a couple of years now and anti-social behaviour is right down. We have plans to do much more.” Mr. Fisher noted that relationships between teenagers and the broader community have improved since YO8’s inception. He further added: “We don’t get such troublesome interaction with the young people and the local residents.” The contributed £5,000 was utilized to convert two previously unused changing rooms. “We literally went through the walls. We’ve now got almost the whole side of the building, which is dedicated as a youth hub.” Future plans encompass the creation of an accessible toilet and the installation of Wifi, which would facilitate activities such as music, drama, and leadership training. The club’s participants range in age from nine to 17, with many previously gathering in the park adjacent to Brayton Community Centre. The free, open drop-in session was initiated in collaboration with the activity provider Flying Futures. Currently, over 60 young people attend the weekly sessions. Ten-year-old Caiden, a regular at YO8, expressed that he was “shocked” upon observing the significant additional space the fundraiser had secured for the club. He commented: “It was really small – then when I walked back in it was massive.” Ella, 11, remarked: “It’s really fun. Usually, I don’t hang around with my friends that much because I’m busy. But on a Wednesday (YO8 night) I have more time to play out with my friends.” Eleven-year-old Carmen conveyed her excitement about seeing the larger YO8 club. She added: “Youth club was shut down for a while when the extension was being built and we sort of had nowhere to be.” She continued: “As soon as we came back in I was really shocked – as soon as I saw the new area I was buzzing.” Mr. Fisher characterized the project as “only the beginning” for his team of volunteers. He elaborated: “We have ambitious plans to do more. I’d love to get to the point where we can afford to pay for a part-time youth worker that would be based here.” He also noted: “The space we have is available for other youth organisations to use, to really create that hub for youth activities that Selby’s never had.” Listeners can access highlights from North Yorkshire via BBC Sounds, catch up with the most recent episode of Look North, or share a story for potential reporting. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content of external sites. Details regarding its approach to external linking are available.