Key Facts
Area: South West
Grant recipient: BREAD
Project: Juicy Blitz
Programme: Reaching Communities
Date of award: November 2012
Amount awarded: £486,277
BREAD is based in Lawrence Weston, Bristol. Lawrence Weston is right on the edge of the city, with high levels of deprivation and a lack of further education provision for over 16s. It’s a destination for some of the most vulnerable families looking for homes in Bristol. BREAD runs projects and activities for disadvantaged young people aged 11-19 right across Bristol.
Juicy Blitz is one of their projects, which is an informal name for the Lawrence Weston Youth Involvement project. It is a juice and smoothie bar where young people can meet and get involved with projects and activities. The projects and activities are youth led, tackling issues that are relevant to their area and needs.
Juicy Blitz opens for two nights a week as a youth club with drop in sessions from 4-5.30pm. Young people can meet and make friends, use computers, join in with activities such as making pizzas, smoothie making, bicycle repairs and maintenance.
The drop in sessions are often based around raising awareness on life issues; for example healthy eating. The young people discuss healthy eating and have access to fruit to make smoothies or they can make, cook and eat pizzas. By giving them the experience of making and eating the food it becomes fun and they can see for themselves the benefits of living a healthier lifestyle. The groups are kept small, making it easier to target the more vulnerable teenager.
In November 2012 BREAD youth project received an additional Big Lottery Fund grant through Reaching Communities of £486,277. This funding is to continue the Juicy Blitz project until 2017.
Emma Rigby, Project Manager for Juicy Blitz Youth Involvement Project Nov 2012 says:
“We’re absolutely delighted to have received Reaching Communities Funding from the Big Lottery Fund. This is a much needed and continued investment in tackling the inequalities that many young people living in Lawrence Weston experience and it comes as a huge relief in the current economic climate to have received this funding to sustain a much needed and vital support mechanism for vulnerable young people who are often trying to overcome multiple disadvantage in their lives, that would have otherwise been at risk.”
Young people are at the heart of everything BREAD do. The young advisors and volunteers regularly meet to decide how BREAD should be running and how to engage more young people. By encouraging young people to take an active part in the running of Juicy Blitz they feel more empowered in decision making which will help them make the right choices in their own lives and community.
In May 2012 one of their Youth Leaders, Blue James, 17, won an Avon and Somerset Police Children and Young People award, the judges selected him as one of the seven winners as they were so impressed with the way he turned his life around after having difficulties at school.
In 2011 after having difficulties at school Blue started a Learn2work placement at Juicy Blitz as a young leader two days per week. In one year he gave more than 500 hours of time to the project as a young volunteer. Blue's role as a young leader is to plan and deliver activities for other young people during Juicy Blitz’s drop in sessions.
Blue was invited to become a member of the North 1 Youth Forum in April 2011 in recognition of his commitment as a young leader. This has involved working with members of the youth forum to identify issues for young people locally and communicate these issues to representatives from the council, police and other agencies.
Blue James says:
“I was a victim of homophobic bullying at school and my way of deflecting it was by playing up a lot in class. I even turned to bullying others myself. In 2011 I was given ‘early study leave’ – this is I was basically kicked out of school. I started coming to Juicy because I didn’t have any friends outside of school, and one of my school friends told me about Juicy Blitz. So I thought I should give it a go. Immediately it felt like walking into a room full of mates, and it’s always been like that – I love it here. I’m proud of myself. It has helped me become more mature and responsible and the young people who go to Juicy Blitz are making a difference in the community as well.”
The Bread Youth Project website
Reaching Communities programme page