Young people today face many challenges such as social exclusion, poverty, mental health, education, employment, violence, drugs, alcohol, sexual behaviour, media and peer pressure, the list can seem endless. In response, they can feel that any hope of achieving their aspirations or reaching their full potential is limited or even non-existent. This can lead them to make unhealthy choices that have a long-term impact. At times their behaviour seems like they don’t care – when in fact they do, they just don’t know how to deal with the challenges they face and at times leads them into following an unhealthy cycle which leads to disengagement from society, social exclusion etc.
SWAY’s work assists young people through their adolescent development. This includes facilitating their learning and understanding about themselves, others and society, helping them develop stronger relationships and collective identities; and respecting and valuing differences.
Our approach is holistic as our aim is to engage and develop the whole person (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual), as we recognise the concept that human beings are multi-dimensional. Our starting point is based on the needs of the young person with emphasis on the relationships we form.
SWAY provides support to children and young people through a range of activities that assist that assists them in reaching their full potential and contributing positively to the community they live in. Engaging with children and young people aged 8yrs – 16yrs+ which includes signposting young people to professional agencies according to their individual areas of need. SWAY’s approach assists in reducing the risk of disengagement from society, anti-social behaviour and works towards improving participants well-being and community cohesion – the aim is Social Inclusion. Our activities encourage the participation of children and young people from low-income families, recognising over a third of children in Brent currently live in a low-income household.
