Youngsters help people ‘at the crossroads’ in Cheetham Hill
A team of hard-working young people are helping a Cheetham Hill community centre improve its surroundings this week as part of the Audacious youth festival.
The Welcome Centre run at Trinity United Church is a local drop-in centre set up five years ago to respond to the needs of people living locally, especially refugees and asylum seekers, the homeless and those struggling with mental health issues.
Run by the church in partnership with local agencies, the Centre provides access to services, a good meal, friendship and support at the church’s premises on the intersection of Greenhill Road and Cheetham Hill Road.
Teamirat Seyoum, himself once an asylum seeker from Eritrea, is the Centre Coordinator: ‘People come to the Centre for a variety of reasons: some seeking advice and support, some looking for help filling in a form, referrals and advice work on benefits.
‘We help anyone. Cheetham Hill is a very diverse and multicultural community with 22 communities speaking 44 languages. Our volunteers are also from diverse backgrounds – Christians, Muslims, Hindus and many of the people who help deliver our services are themselves refugees or are affected by mental health issues. Volunteering can be the first step on the road to employment.’
Seventeen young people are working at Trinity United Church and the partner church St Johns on Thursday and Friday afternoons this week (August 6 and 7). The youngsters are creating a community garden: clearing land which use to be occupied by a demolished church hall, putting down a membrane and covering the area with bark chippings, creating a restful seating area.
The area will also host a vegetable patch which will eventually provide home-grown for use in the Centre.
‘It will be used as a quiet and reflective place for the users of the centre on Thursdays and Fridays’, says Trinity United Church leader Daniel Burton. ‘It’s the first thing you see when you go through the gate and for years it’s been an eyesore. Suddenly, having a willing team of youngsters has given us the people power to tackle it.’
‘It’s a great project for them to be involved with. The church is at the physical crossroads here and we are also at the crossroads of many people’s lives.’
The team sent to help the project in Cheetham Hill is from Louth Christian Fellowship in Louth, Lincolnshire. James Cartwright, one of the leaders of the group commented:
‘It’s really good to see the young people getting involved in the community and chatting to people as they come past and ask what’s going on. It’s also good for the young people to know that they’re appreciated and get the encouragement. It’s uplifting to be a part of it.’
The project is one of 50 local projects taking place across Manchester this Thursday and Friday, part of an initiative run by The Message Trust and the Audacious Festival. More than 1,000 young people are involved in total.
The Audacious youth festival will culminate in a massive free outdoor event in central Manchester’s Cathedral Gardens and Spinningfields on Saturday 8 August. The event will feature outdoor sports, live music, street theatre and, for the first time ever in the centre of Manchester, a bungee crane. The day starts at 1pm and everyone is welcome.