All In Youth and OCL (One Community Link) have set up a Big Lottery funded project called Challenging Racism, Changing Lives for people who identify as Black, Asian, Mixed-race, non-white including people seeking asylum and refugees.
The Tees Valley has a fast-growing BAMER (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee) population and there are not enough opportunities/spaces to share their truth, learn, educate and celebrate their heritage.
This project provides services and support for people who experience racism, whether that is blatant or structural (meaning hidden, usually through less favourable treatment or being treated as less than, without racist terms being openly used), so they can develop systems to effectively challenge it and educate others.
They understand that experiences of racism can leave people feeling, angry, isolated, rejected, frightened, tired and frustrated. Sometimes racist experiences, especially in the workplace or education, can be dismissed by staff working in those institutions. This negatively impacts mental health and well-being, especially if we internalise these experiences without having an outlet to talk to other like-minded people.
We need a space to honestly talk about racism.
They do not dismiss anyone’s experiences and are passionately committed about making positive changes for the BAMER community in the Tees Valley. They will use information gathered from the youth and adult sessions to work with organisations that need to hear and respond to these experiences. The people they work with want to see and feel that something is being done to end subconscious bias/structural racism and blatant racism.
Services
They provide weekly multicultural dance sessions for young people aged 4-25, a youth group for young people aged 11-25, a weekly adult group for people aged 26+, multicultural celebration and education events, training and workshops for schools, colleges, universities, councils and employers.
Please contact them if you would like any further information on our project, how to hire us or join our organisation. We look forward to working with you.
Contact details:
Marsha Garratt – marshacg1981@hotmail.com
Euphrasia Makaure– onecommunitylink@aol.com
Susan Mansaray – susanmans@ymail.com
Facebook: @allinyouth