LiveWest held its first Youth Festival and Awards, celebrating the achievements of young people across the South West.
The event was designed to highlight the support taking place across LiveWest Young People’s Supported Accommodation Service, showcasing young people’s skills and their journeys through supported housing.
LiveWest’s young people’s supported accommodation service provides friendly, welcoming and non‑judgemental homes where young people can live for a set period of time. We support and inspire them to succeed, helping them develop essential life skills and encouraging personal responsibility as they work towards achieving their goals.
More than 50 young people attended, with residents coming together from across the South West. The day recognised the value supported housing can bring and the difference it makes for those accessing the service.
Jenny Endean, our Service Lead for Young People, said: “This was about bringing our colleagues and young people from all our different communities from Penzance to Bristol together to have fun and get to know each other.
“It was also about developing relationships, hearing different stories and celebrating young people’s talents, progress and achievements throughout their journey with us.
“The awards element was particularly emotional, as we heard some incredible stories. Our young people are all at different stages of their journey, so recognising achievement at every stage was really important.
“Whatever your talent or strength, there was an opportunity for you to shine.”
There were lots of nominations across each category, with young people also recognised for placing in the top three.
Winners and runners up were selected through a combination of a judging panel and votes from young people themselves. Each finalist received a framed certificate, a goodie bag and a voucher, with winners also presented with a trophy.
There were 10 award categories presented on the day, including Inspirational Young Leader, Inclusivity Award and Volunteer of the Year, celebrating how young people have overcome challenges and progressed towards reaching their potential.
One of the winners was Kenny from Carn Brea Foyer, who received the Arts and Culture Award. Kenny was praised by both colleagues and residents for his creativity, and he created an impactful suicide awareness video to encourage people to seek support.
Kenny shared the video at the awards ceremony and thanked people for appreciating the video and highlighting the cause which he is passionate about.
Our resident, Kenny, said: “I filmed it in about three days, published it on YouTube and I’ve been getting views from all around the world!
“I’ve had my own issues in life and opening up was the hardest thing to do. But I realised that opening up is what makes things better, so I made my film hoping people would see it.
“The message is that even if we’re feeling alone, there’s someone close we can talk to, and that can really help.”
Alongside the awards, young people took part in a range of fun activities throughout the day, including a graffiti workshop, gaming stations, art workshops, and pottery sessions.
Some activities were delivered by local charity Sound Communities through its Boom Bus where people could explore their musical side with Dj-ing while young people also performed music and poetry throughout the day.
Our young people’s service provides supported accommodation for young people and young parents aged 16 to 25 who are experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. We offer a safe, nurturing environment where individuals can live, learn and thrive. We believe every young person deserves a safe and secure place to call home.
Saskia, a resident at Torbay Foyer, shared how the support she received helped turn her life around.
She said: “I was homeless and then I was placed straight into a LiveWest foyer. Since then, I’ve progressed so much. I’ve learnt a lot about myself, how to live on my own, how to deal with things, how to prioritise and how to talk to people.
“I was in a really bad place, but I’ve had so much support from my support workers. Now, I’m doing much better. I love the staff and don’t have a single bad thing to say about them. My next goal is to start working again and get my own place.”
Find out more about our young people services here.