Believing in young people...
How it works
Oxygen have a heart to see young people served and supported in many ways. Young people need support and a listening ear from somone who will not judge or condemn them for the choices they make.
Today's young people need to know that somebody cares and is willing to give up time for them.
Your experiences and willingness to give back may be a lifeline for a young person.
Helping them to work through issues and life's challenges is a vital part of the mentor's role and can be incredibly rewarding for both the young person and the mentor.
Oxygen provides training to all its mentors and ongoing support as you journey alongside a young person.
All mentors undergo an enhanced DBS check and vetting process. Age is not a barrier.
An ability to listen and encourage is essential!
What we offer
sessions:
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identity
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character
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beliefs
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aspirations and goals
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personal action plan
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my life course and accredited
Oxygen's NEET project helps young people aged between 16 and 19 who are confused by the range of choices and options in front of them and need extra support to find their way forward.
Young people often know where their skills lie but can’t see how they could be used to get you a job?
They might know what they want to do but are not sure how to go about taking the first step?
We try to help young people to understand their strengths, qualities and aspirations so that they can make informed decisions about their lives and their future.
“Without Oxygen I would have been stuck in life not knowing what to do. The staff helped me to build my confidence and understand the choices I had to make.
Now I am clearer about my skills and what I want to do in the future. Oxygen helped
me get on the right path and feel more positive about the future.”
Young person
"What's the point" is a peer led education programme aimed at local teenagers designed to raise awareness and challenge attitudes about the dangers, risk and consequences of being involved in knife crime. The Project was developed in response to the stabbing of a young person and a desire to reduce the number of deaths of young people. The Project is funded by “Your money you decide” and the Church Urban Fund.
It is often hard for classroom teachers to engage students in a way that really makes them reflect on their life choices but Oxygen have managed to do just that. The boys have grown up a lot since meeting with the Oxygen team and have changed their perspectives as well as their behaviour. Thank you so much from all of us at Southborough. You have gone above and beyond for our boys and we are very grateful.” Head of Year 10, Southborough School
“Since getting involved in “What’s the point?” I have received a lot of respect and gained credibility with both my peers and the staff. It has given me the chance to stand up for something that I believe in” Young person
Kingston Street Pastors was set up as an Oxygen project almost 10 years ago by Oxygen trustees in partnership with local churches and has helped thousands of adults and young people and those suffering from homelessness, addiction and mental health issues. There are over 60 trained volunteers from local churches who go out on friday and saturday evenings in the town centre, supporting the police and other agencies in ensuring people's safety, picking up bottles that can be used as weapons, giving out flipflops and minimising conflict by giving out lolipops !
Kingston Street pastors is affiliated to the Asscension Trust who run the scheme nationaly, providing training and uniforms for the volunteers. Street Pastors is a great example of how local christians can demonstrate their faith.
In a practical way that makes a real difference to those who find themselves in vulnerable situations late at night.
Click on the logo to visit the Kingston Street Pastors website
"We have over 10,000 people coming to Kingston each weekend to enjoy the night life offered by the clubs, bars and restaurants. The staff and volunteers at Kingston Street Pastors do an incredible job . We would not be able to cope without them! " Glen Tunstal, Chief Superintendent
Developing Leaders led by Adam and Troy and is a programme of training and activities designed to equip young people with the skills they need to lead their peers and make a difference in their community. Young people are tasked with deliering training to their peers covering topicks such as leadership, trust, teamwork, objective setting and identity. Young people are then encouraged to apply their skills in planning activities for other young people and getting involved in community projects or taking on roles in their church or school.
"Without Oxygen I would have been stuck in life not knowing what to do. Through being a young leader I have been inspired to be a youth worker to help young people. This is what I enjoy doing. It has also helped me to build my confidence with my friends and given me confidence at school to ask questions when I am in class. In my social life before, I didn’t really speak to anyone about anything but now I can tell people what I am thinking and what my ideas are which I think is a good thing because I would have a hard time in life if I didn’t speak up.” Young Person
The MOTiv8 programme is a partnership with Community Motors, a newly established garage and is designed to give young people the opportunity to attend a work-like placement where they engage in activities that help them to identify the next steps towards employment or training. They are able to gain experience working in a motor mechanics workshop and learn aspects of health and safety guidelines, assess and diagnose faults, understand the basics of an engine and car maintenance.
The programme was effective in assisting the progression of eight young people who attended the planned sessions delivered over a period of three weeks for 2 days per week. Participants undertook aspects of the Reflex My life sessions on readiness for work as well as undergoing mock interviews, C.V. writing and food hygiene certificate.
Young Londoners Fund
We are very pleased to announce that in 2020, Oxygen will be launching a new project to support young people who are at risk of exclusion from education or at risk of offending. This work is funded by the Mayor of London's Young Londoners Fund. More information coming soon!
MyLife is a resource developed through reflex a project of Youth for Christ that was designed to build character and life skills. This multi-accredited resource is a direct response to the alarming 74% reoffending rates amongst young people. It was developed to support the 136,000 young people who are excluded from mainstream education, as well as to tackle the growing problem of NEET young people (Not in Education Employment or Training), with figures of one million i.e. 1 in 6 young people.
If you believe every young person has potential, every young person can make a difference and every young person can be empowered to change – then myLife is for you! Oxygen has several staff trained to deliver the programme and uses it alongside the NEET and Mentoring projects. myLife provides quantitative and qualitative measurable outcomes to help demonstrate effectiveness through social, moral, cultural and spiritual development required in OFSTED standards. Training and subscription to the resource can be accessed through Oxygen.
The Jack Petchey Foundation invests in youth organisations in London and Essex. Rewarding young people for their achievements or drastic improvements in behaviour; encourages them to develop their confidence and self esteem. This creates a positive environment for young people to engage and grow in their youth groups. Socially, physically and emotionally.
Oxygen’s Room 1 project has been operating at Coombe Boys School since 2008. The aim of Room 1 is to give all young people a safe place after school where they can: study, relax and play. Room 1 is targeted at young people who are eligible for free school meals. We have two fantastic volunteers, Sue and Jan who make such a difference to the project. Troy and Eileen lead RM1 for Oxygen.
“RM1 really makes a difference to the lives of the lads who need a little more support and motivation to achieve their potential.”
Mr. Rogers , Coombe Boys’s
“Room 1 means a lot to me. It’s an escape for me. A place I won't be judged, where my opinions won't be judged. It’s a place where I have people to talk to. If I have any problems I can go and speak to one of the leaders and that makes me feel amazing that I have somewhere I can go just to get help with my problems. ” young person
Oxygen has been working on the Kingsnympton Park Estate for over 12 years, delivering activities focused upon the needs of young people and the wider community.
We have taken on the responsibility for managing the building in partnership with the YMCA, under a contract with Achieving for Children. Oxygen oversees the delivery of youth provision for young people
We love working with the community and the young people are so engaging and value the opportunity work with the Oxygen Team. We are keen to improve the building and are currently trying to get the kitchen replaced so that we can develop our work with young people offering cookery activities and education around healthy eating and lifestyles.
