Social Action
The stage is set for change
Our Estate-based Youth Theatres have now completed their social action project!
Social action involves people coming together to help solve important issues within their community.
This year our young people have chosen ‘injustices within the community’ as their topic, exploring issues such as immigration, discrimination against different abilities, the housing crisis, the cost-of-living crisis, homelessness, ignorance, and community safety.
It is pivotal that our young people feel safe and heard within their community and the issues they have chosen are as relevant and current as ever before, for instance:
Immigration
Immigration is an important part of our society with over 337,140 work visas granted to applicants in 2023, which is 26% higher than in 2022, these people help to fill an enormous gap within the labour market, especially within the care and hospitality industry.
Visit Gov.UK for more statistics on immigration in the UK.
Discrimination against different abilities
According to research by Scope 3 out of 4 disabled people (72%) have experienced negative attitudes or behaviour in the past 5 years, with 9 out of 10 disabled people (87%) who had experienced negative attitudes or behaviour saying it had a negative effect on their daily lives.
Visit here for more information on discrimination against different abilities.
The housing crisis & homelessness
A recent article from the Guardian said ‘England’s ‘broken’ housing system is now a problem no council can avoid’ (find the article here!). This issue of course feeds into Homelessness, with many people becoming homeless after they can’t afford to pay their rent. Crisis suggests that those experiencing homelessness are up to 17 times more likely to have experienced violence.
The cost-of-living crisis,
The cost-of-living crisis is not just a buzz word! The Office for National Statistics revealed that in September 2021 a pint of milk was 43p but in March 2023 - just a year and half later - the average price of a pint of milk was 70p. This is just a small example of the rapidly rising cost of goods in the UK.
Some suggest that the main reason for this rapid increase in costs is due to the War between Russia and Ukraine, which increased oil and gas prices, as well as the price of agricultural products including fertilisers.
To help children better understand the cost of living crisis visit CBBC newsround here!
Community safety.
The participants of this year's Social Action also explored five steps of community safety which included:
• Being aware of your surroundings
• Not talking to strangers or taking food from them
• Always knowing your address, and important phone numbers
• Never getting into a stranger's vehicle
• Always staying on lit pathways
Because children of all ages, genders, and ethnicities can be victims of abuse, community safety is a vital topic for our young people to engage with.
This year’s Social Action project has given young people the opportunity to explore important issues within our community, while sharing insights and information with their peers, and uncovering ways to stay safe while tackling the issues which are most important to them.
For more information about our Youth Theatres visit here!
For more information about keeping your child safe in the community visit here!
We need your help!
This year James, Sorrel, Deane and Gavin will be taking to the streets to run the Hackney Half Marathon on the 19th of May 2024. Join us in person or in spirit to support our efforts. Not only does taking part help us to raise awareness of our work, it also helps us to raise money to fund our mission to support marginalised communities.
Just £20 can provide refreshments for all attendants of one youth theatre session
£35 can fund hot lunches for a week for one young person attending a holiday project
£250 can pay for food for an end-of-term celebration for all our young people
We know how difficult the last few years have been for everyone in our community, which is why our work is more important than ever. If you are able to help us fund our activities; please donate by going to our Just Giving page here!