#ValuesInAction – Helping young care leavers tackle loneliness together at the Co-operative College
Monday 2 July 2018
We connect people and communities, helping them approach their challenges collectively through relationships based on solidarity and caring for others.
In our penultimate blog for Co-operatives Fortnight on how our values guide everything we do, we look at how our funding for the Co-operative College is helping young care leavers come together to tackle loneliness …
“Loneliness is a massive issue for care leavers. They often have to live on their own and they often have really difficult relationship with their families. [But], through the co-operative work we’re doing, [this group] will have the chance to share their messages and get more young people to make connections that can change things.” – Cat, Project Officer at the Co-operative College’s Youth Co-operative Action Group, funded through the Co-op Foundation’s #iwill Fund
When young people come together to support each other, great things can happen.
And this is exactly how the Youth Co-operative Action Group, at the Co-operative College, is helping young care leavers manage their move into adulthood and tackle the loneliness that often comes with this.
About the Youth Co-operative Action Group
The Co-operative College is using a £25,000 grant from the Co-op Foundation’s #iwill Fund to help young care leavers, aged 16 to 20, work together to tackle loneliness for themselves and others.
Supported by Greater Manchester Youth Network, which is facilitating young people to examine the issue of loneliness through community reporting, the project uses a distinctly co-operative version of social action and the values of co-operation to tackle loneliness head on through volunteering, campaigning and fundraising.
And by doing this together within their own peer group, the young people are also getting the chance to make new friends, take part in fun activities they may otherwise not have the chance to enjoy, and change things for others.
In this video, Project Officer, Cat, tells us why social action is so helpful for young care leavers
We’re delighted to help young people tackle loneliness through our funding for Co-operative College.
By coming together – any by embracing our values of solidarity and caring for others – this group of young people are helping each other to make the difficult move into adulthood that little bit easier for them and their peers.
Read more about the Youth Co-operative Action Group on the Co-operative College website.
Are you enjoying our series of #ValuesinAction blogs for Co-operatives Fortnight? Head back to our blog homepage to read how equality and equity, democracy, social responsibility, honesty and openness help us connect and empower young people and communities. Let us know what you think on Twitter and Facebook.