Building Long-Term Relationships
by John Gillan - Project Leader at Ferrywell Youth Project
Ferrywell Youth Project is a small Christian charity working with young people in Muirhouse, Pilton and Drylaw. This can be a tough area of Edinburgh to grow up in and we try to support young people in any way we can on a practical and emotional level, so that we can build good relationships and then become trusted to share with them on a spiritual level.
A large proportion of our work involves working alongside the local High School, as well as the three feeder Primaries in the local area. We have spent a lot of time building relationships with school staff to create trust and we have now reached a point where we are known well by staff and we can help school support some of the most vulnerable young people.
We’ve had to be flexible with what we have offered schools depending on the needs at the time. Some of the things we have run in the past in school and in our own building have been;
· SU groups
· Supporting primary 7 transition groups up to high school
· One to one support
· Formal counselling
· Group work looking at relationships (Romance Academy)
· Group work looking at grief (Seasons for growth)
· Youth Alpha
· Youth Groups
· Easter and Christmas presentations to P6
· SU holidays and weekends away
· Activity day at our building for a small group instead of being in school
It's amazing to be able to work with some young people right through from primary 6 to the end of 6th year. Over 8 years we really get to know these young people and their families. For many of those we work with simply being a consistent, trustworthy, interested adult can have a huge impact. More and more we find that schools are asking us to come alongside young people to work with them one to one, meeting weekly for a chat and offer of support. Many are living in really difficult situations at home which has an impact on that young person’s behaviour. Although it takes time to build that trust it’s a real privilege to build relationship and get to know these kids. That’s when they begin to share their lives with us, the good and the bad, but that’s also when we can begin to share our faith with them.
We have our own building just 5mins up the road from the high school so we are fortunate that we can build on the relationships we make in school into the community. We run our own youth groups. Kids often drop in for hot chocolate, plasters for knees or a quick toilet stop. This then leads to a game of pool and chat. The kids and their families all know we are a Christian charity and at our own youth groups we have bible teaching at the end of each group. Sometimes if a young person shows an interest we can take them to church with us on a Sunday. Most of the young people we work with have no church connection or experience and attending church can be daunting and weird. But many of them love it. They recognise and enjoy community, they love to feel welcomed and known, and although manyaren’t Christians as they attend on a Sunday, they leave having learned more and with lots of questions.
We are seeing young people with no previous church connection becoming Christians. This is a huge encouragement to us but presents with a new problem. The challenge becomes “what then”. Their lives are still messy and their behaviour in church can be really difficult. What church can they go to? How can they fit in? Are they really welcome? These are a new set of challenges we are facing. But it’s a great problem to have.
