Youth Workers on the Street
Louisa Briggs
Project Manager
At Bristol BID, we are committed to creating a safe, welcoming and thriving city centre for businesses, visitors and young people alike.
As part of this work, we represent the Bristol BID businesses in the City Centre Play and Youth Partnership. As a partnership we have come together to develop an initiative designed to strengthen relationships between young people and businesses in central Bristol. The “Youth Workers on the Street” project provides street-based youth work delivered by Learning Partnership West, Creative Youth Network and Bristol Horn Youth Concern and is supported by Bristol City Council.
Why we’re supporting this project
Our city centre is a thriving business community which is also home to children and young people who live in, visit, and pass through the area on their way to school, college, university, or work. It’s a shared space and it is important that everyone feels welcome, safe and can enjoy.
The ‘Youth Workers on the Street’ project ensures trained youth workers are present in our city centre. They are there to provide support, advice and guidance to young people. Their aim is to help young people to make informed choices and also understand challenges that businesses may experience so that improved understanding in shared spaces is a positive experience for everyone.
What the project delivers
The ‘Youth workers on the street’ project delivers three street-based youth work sessions each week in central Bristol. Acting as trusted adults, the youth workers engage professionally and positively with young people, building relationships and offering support, guidance, and signposting to specialist services. The youth team cover Broadmead, Old City, and the areas surrounding Castle Park.
Supporting businesses
The initiative supports retail and hospitality businesses in the city centre. As a businesses, you can raise concerns about groups of young people, share information safely and request youth worker engagement where appropriate. Concerns are handled sensitively and professionally, with youth workers responding in a calm, trauma-informed and solution-focused way.
The City Centre Play and Youth Partnership also provide training to businesses on safeguarding children and young people, recognising signs of exploitation, and the steps to take if you have concerns about a child or young person’s welfare.
While the primary focus is Broadmead, Old City and the Castle Park area, we share relevant updates with all BID businesses to ensure awareness and transparency.
Supporting young people
The initiative helps ensure that young people are heard, feel safe and included in their city, and have access to specialist services. The youth workers are experienced in offering child and youth-focussed support, advice and guidance.
We also collaborate with schools and colleges to ensure a joined up approach which in turns provides support and consistent messages for young people. We aim to strengthen communication between education settings and youth services.
Get involved
If you are a Bristol BID business and would like to raise a concern, request engagement or learn more about the The Play and Youth Partnership, including the ‘Youth Workers on the Street’ Project, please contact Louisa.
Together, we can ensure Bristol city centre thrives for businesses, young people and the wider population.