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We are The Boathouse Youth

More than just a Youth Club

Proud to be

Blackpool's leading youth charity

The Boathouse Youth is a Registered UK Charity (1149320) who work with children and young people aged 5 to 17, from socio-economically deprived communities across Blackpool, to help tackle the challenges they’re experiencing.

We have four programme areas each facilitating a variety of physical, creative and educational activities including centre based youth work, offsite visits and residential experiences. We also have a specialist programme for children with additional needs and disabilities. Our entire offer is fully funded and therefore free at the point of access. 
 
Our team of highly skilled professionals interact with young people on a daily-basis to deliver well thought out programmes in an engaging way. 
 
We aim to facilitate a safe space to improve mental well-being, promote positive behaviours, support educational growth and encourage a healthy lifestyle. 
 
This helps young people become the best versions of themselves through increasing their aspirations and improving their relationships. Our ultimate aim is to break the cycle of deprivation and enable our young people to lead their best lives.

Love. Respect. Discipline.

About us

High quality
youth services

The Boathouse Youth aims to provide high-quality Youth Work through a variety of educational and recreational activities that will build confidence, restore self-esteem and, above all, bring happiness to the lives of its young members.

Established in 2009, we currently operate in two of the borough’s “most deprived” communities: Bloomfield and Grange Park. In 2021, we worked with 850 different children and young people with a record-breaking throughput of 27,000 engagements.

The Boathouse Youth is a product of its local communities’ requirements. Our priority is to embrace those whose need is greatest, and location is paramount. We have chosen the Bloomfield ward and Grange Park council estate due to their unrivalled levels of deprivation within our town. More than 50% of the children residing in these areas are “living below the breadline”.

A complex variety of issues, associated with deprivation, contribute towards instability. Children and young people may witness regular domestic violence, drug/alcohol misuse, live in poor-housing conditions, and have limited access to basic services such as the dentist. The most simple of commodities are often in the shortest supply: food in the fridge, a hot drink, help with homework, a bedtime story and a clean bed.

The most significant barrier facing our young people is the financial position of their parents. This is why all of our services are fully-funded and free at the point of access. Without The Boathouse Youth there would be no other recreational outlet for the children and young people of these communities.
The resultant effect of our absence would be an inevitable gravitation towards anti-social forms of behaviour and young people being pulled into the continued cycle of deprivation and requiring high-levels of statutory interventions on an already stretched set of services.

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0 %

of families across the whole of Blackpool are living in poverty

0 %

of the top ten most deprived areas in the UK are situated in Blackpool

0 %

of requests for statutory support for children did not receive a social care assessment due to demand exceeding capacity

Our values

Love. Respect. Discipline.

Love. We create and sustain human relationships with dignity. We believe in equity, equality and goodwill.

Respect. We give consideration and recognition to every individual’s intrinsic value as a human being. We place welfare above all else.

Discipline. We practice and promote good human behaviour to improve society and make it a better place for everyone to live and work.

Our mission

To break the cycle of deprivation

The Boathouse Youth aims to break the cycle of deprivation for children, young people and their families in Blackpool. We do this by removing barriers and creating opportunities that are engaging, relevant to their developing needs and enable positive relationships to form, so that every young person is able to realise their own potential.

In order to stop today’s young people becoming the next generation of adults who live in poverty, we will enable them to make positive change in each next step of their lives – from cradle to career.

Our approach

Place. Price.Professionals. Provision.

We aim to deliver a preventative approach that targets those whose need is greatest. We have identified that children, young people and families we serve need four main things, as outlined in the diagram below.

We have identified that children, young people and families we serve need four main things:

1 Place

Suitable facilities that are situated in their communities, close to their homes

3 Professionals

To develop relationships with positive role-models with lived-experience, who have their best interests at heart

2 Price

All services to be provided free-of-charge at the point of access

4 Provision

High-quality educational and recreational opportunities that seek to effectively engage

How we address the problem

We have identified that children, young people and families we serve need four main things:

1 Place

Suitable facilities that are situated in their communities, close to their homes

2 Price

All services to be provided free-of-charge at the point of access

3 Professionals

To develop relationships with positive role-models with lived-experience, who have their best interests at heart

4 Provision

High-quality educational and recreational opportunities that seek to effectively engage

I am hugely proud to be leading a charity that has become synonymous with young people in Blackpool.

The young people and families with whom we work are a constant source of inspiration to me. They are the fuel that drives me to create a bigger and better Boathouse for Blackpool.

I really believe that we can change the socio-economic picture of this town, one family at a time.

Laurance Hancock

Chief Executive Officer

Support us
There are 8,000 children and young people currently living in poverty right on our doorstep, here in Blackpool. Your offer of time, experience or finances could help to change one of those childrens’ lives. Help us to help them. Contact us today to see if we can align your gift with our needs.
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© 2024 The Boathouse Youth | Registered Charity Number: 1149320 | Registered Company Number: 8164995
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