We arranged a fun get-together at our Kibble Community Hub in Paisley for young people who are part of our community-based services to chat through their thoughts and feedback about the care and support they receive.
Young people were invited along to ‘Our Voice Promise event’, which was arranged by Kibble’s Promise Lead, Natalie and co-hosted by Who Cares? Scotland.
The dedicated time together gave young people the opportunity to share their opinions about their daily lives from the adults who are part of the staff team to what makes them happy and if they’d like to see any changes being made.
To make sure everyone enjoyed themselves and felt settled and relaxed, we started with cake-making. Each one of us felt proud of our creatively decorated cakes. Starting from scratch, we watched our own cakes take shape and during that time, caught up with one another and had fully open discussions amongst ourselves.
By completing an activity as a group, we can take the time to understand how we feel before voicing our opinion. A safe space is formed.
Going to college, moving into a flat, horse-riding and helping another person carry their shopping. All are moments young people described as a time they felt proud of themselves. The event let young people reflect on themselves and their actions and feel a sense of achievement.
It is extremely uplifting to hear our talented young people accomplish greatness from small to monumental milestones.
The conversation moved onto young people describing what makes them feel loved with the heart-warming responses confirming each one had someone or a particular thing in their life that helps them feel fulfilled with happiness.
“I feel loved when the adults around me make sure I am ok”
– Young person
“I feel loved when seeing my family and friends.” – Young person
“My cat makes me feel loved” – Young person
Young people also agreed they felt safe by either an adult or their friends. The group spoke about their house being nice and quiet with great laughs being had by all.
All children have a right to be heard and involved in decisions that affect them and our event encouraged young people to express their views. Listening to young people is part of Kibble’s overall culture as we have a commitment to keep the promise and fully incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
