Thats all folks

So this is the time to say a little farewell for my part in the Sidewalk project over the last few years, after 4 1/2 years i managed to coordinate the project and was able, along with the volunteers to be able to do this:

Complete 465 detached youthwork sessions

Have 10,000 contacts with young people

Develop partnership working in 3 schools and Perth College

Have 1900 conversations with young people on the streets

Get to know 404 ‘named’ young people in the City Centre

Talk to young people about alcohol or drug use on 450 occasions (in the City Centre).

Have 200 conversations with young people about Family life, 678 about work or school, 66 about Religion/Spirituality

Do one to one work with 8 different young people with a variety of intensity

Have 90 young people as ‘friends’ on the Sidewalk Facebook page.

Develop partnerships with Youth Services ( for Safetaysiders and Driving Ambition) , Youth Justice ( for Alcohol diversionary projects 2010), Tayside police ( Driving Ambition), Riverside church (for North Muirton work), Tulloch Net (for Tulloch work), south perth youth services (South inch, drug and alcohol photography project)

Develop links with FYT Streetspace, Faithworks, Youthworks & Snapy 

Have 115 detailed conversations with young people on the street, where disclosure of personal information is given.

Train 14 Volunteers, 6 ICC students and 6 Young Leaders at PYMCA, 25 adults at Deep Impact conference.

Help to reduce YCO Calls in Letham/ North Muirton by 30%

Worked in partnership with Tayside Police, Street Pastors and City Centre Safety Partnerships

Deliver Lessons on Legal highs/alcohol to 8 classes at St Johns

Call 1 ambulance and give 5 lifts home from the south inch

Speak to S5/6 groups at all P&K secondary schools about alcohol use, using the Driving Ambition framework.

Distribute at least 2500 contact/ info cards – via street work, driving ambition and Transition days

Split up at least 4 fights between young people, and more recently deal with the aftermath of 3 ‘adult’ fights.

Walk the distance between Perth and Athens, just around the city centre.

Amongst alot of other things besides,  I thank you if youre a young person whom weve met, if you're a volunteer who weve trained, a partner who we've worked with over these last few years.

Its time to let others take on the mantle, run with the baton and all that, and so with only a little modesty i use the comments of a young person to close with:

“James is a legend, he should have gold stars on his badge, hes been here for 4 years and stuck around even though other people on the project have left, he doesn’t have any faults, he must be mental”  (E, 17)

So yes i must be mental, or convicted that young people have the right to be respected and to spend time with in their environments, worth listening to and meeting them where they're at. Bye for now  James