My
BRIT 2012 mile blog; sharing encounters and memories from every county of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland throughout 2012
2012
BRIT miles with a spinal cord injury; the equivalent of 310 marathon distances
in 330 days to support young people post-trauma
Thanks
to everyone for supporting me on my toughest challenge
This
month’s BRIT 2012 mile walk is November in the West Midlands
The 298th day of my BRIT 2012
mile walk was hosted by Stoke-on-Trent College http://www.stokecoll.ac.uk/
The College Mission is
“Delivering excellence in learning and skills and employability”.
Their Strategic Aims are;
· Deliver Excellence
· Put their learners and customers first
· Be efficient and sustainable through
investment and profitability
The College Values are to deliver
outstanding service, people committed to learner success; an environment which
promotes equality, diversity and safety.
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| A very warm welcome from students on the Army Preperation Course & Public Service Course at Stoke-on-Trent College |
On arrival I was given the
opportunity to give a talk to students on the Army Preparation Course and
Public Services Courses and following a Question and Answer session we went
outside and met with more students studying Sports Science and Coaching and
started our walk together.
The courses available at
Stoke-on-Trent College cover a wide range of subjects including;
· Access to Higher Education
· Business, Management & Finance
· Childcare, Health & Social Care
· Construction
· Engineering & Electronics
· Hair, Beauty & Holistic Therapies
· Health & Safety / Food Hygiene
· Hospitality & Catering
· I.T & Admin
· Logistics
· Motor Vehicle
· Music & Performing Arts
· Plumbing, Heating & Ventilation
· Prince's Trust Team
· Public Services & Army Preparation
· Reading, Writing and Basic Maths
· Retail
· Science
· Skills for Life
· Sports Science & Coaching
· Trade Union Studies
· Travel & Tourism
As an Ambassador for The Prince’s
Trust http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/
I am always delighted to see opportunities available to join the Prince’s
Trust Team programme. If you are aged between 16 and 25, here’s what the
Prince’s Trust can do for you;
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| County Flag of Staffordshire |
Right across Staffordshire, the
Prince’s Trust programme is helping young people from age 16 to 25 find their
way in life. So even if you left school with no qualifications or if
you’re just unsure what job or study path to take – the course does what it
says on the tin and gives you time to find out what you want to do.
The programme’s aim is simple –
help you enhance your job prospects, build confidence and skills to help you
get work or go on to further education and training. You’ll also get to work on
different qualifications which look impressive on your CV.
 |
| Young People attending The Prince's Trust Team at Stoke-on-Trent College and working on a community project |
The 12 week programme sets team
members the challenge of a residential week, doing work experience, planning a
community project and even raising funds to pay for that project. When you
team-up with Stoke-on-Trent College on the Prince’s Trust Team they promise
that they will keep you busy for 12 weeks. To team up with the Prince’s Trust
in Staffordshire, please call them on 01782 603790 and they will find the right
location and start date for you.
If you attend the 12 week
programme you have the opportunity to;
·
Achieve The Prince’s Trust Team Award
·
Gain the Prince’s Trust Certificate in Employment, Teamwork and Community
Skills
·
Gain the NCFE Employability Skills Level 1
·
NCFE qualification Enterprise Skills Level 1
·
NOCN Step Up – Assertive Living and Speaking and Listening – Level 1
·
Basic First Aid
Stoke-on-Trent College offers
Public Services Courses and Army Preparation Courses.
At Stoke-on-Trent College, their
courses are delivered by lecturers with great experience of working and
teaching in the forces and public services. They will provide students
with cutting edge knowledge delivered in an exciting manner, with the use of
the excellent resources and facilities available at the College. An
extensive range of outdoor activities and residential courses are involved to
develop teamwork and leadership skills on all courses.
Many public service students go
on to higher education. Army privates can earn up to £27,000 a year and the
average salaries for police officers and firefighters are around £32,000.
 |
| Students at Stoke-on-Trent College participating on their Army Preparation Course |
I had a great time today with
students from the Sports, Public Services Courses and the Army Preparation
Course.
The young people I met were
absolutely tremendous today; they encouraged, enthused and inspired me.
 |
| With students at Stoke-on-Trent College on Day 298 of my BRIT 2012 mile walk |
I am learning just how tough life
can be for young people and the effect that others can have on how they
feel. This is the 298th day of walking throughout Great Britain
and Northern Ireland and the words I heard today are similar to many of those I
have heard in other counties. Today I listened to a large number of young
people who shared how they felt about themselves and why they want to change
their lives.
My knowledge and first-hand
experience of meeting young people who have faced emotional abuse has grown
considerably this year. Every day I am visiting different counties, I am
meeting young people with many different emotional issues and difficulties that
they have been sharing with me as we spend time walking together.
For more information on Emotional
Abuse, please click her for the NSPCC information page;
It is clearly evident that
emotional abuse has a highly detrimental impact on the development of a young
person’s mental health, behaviour, self-esteem, self-confidence and
self-worth. I am in no doubt that the impact is even more damaging in
younger years and of course, if it continues throughout a young person’s
teenage years. Domestic violence is inexcusable, however, I feel strongly
that emotional abuse can be just as damaging to a young person and is also just
as inexcusable and abusive.
24-hour National Domestic Violence
Freephone Helpline
Freephone Helpline
0808 2000 247
Run in partnership between Women's Aid and Refuge
I appreciate every case of emotional
abuse is different, however, whether the abuse comes from an adult (with their
own mental health problems or with parental substance misuse issues) or from a
peer, who they themselves are growing up with a life of emotional abuse, the
affect this has on the young people I am meeting is shocking and I am deeply
saddened to hear how they are feeling about themselves.
The young people I am meeting are
giving their all to change their lives.
I am meeting them in Schools,
Colleges and Universities and by making this step towards seeking change in
their lives through further or higher education is not only positive, it is
courageous and inspirational. I believe there is a danger with
emotional abuse that it can lead to serious damage to a young person’s health
and their development both emotionally and intellectually.
Today I met young people who told
me they felt that they were gaining confidence by attending their courses and
feel they are in a more protective environment where their social communication
skills and relationships with others (fellow students and friends) are
improving.
I also met young people who have
been neglected or have felt neglected and they all told me that they have felt
unloved, uncared for and alone. I felt that their self-esteem and
self-worth had been severely damaged.
I feel frustrated every time I
see or hear the difficulties young people are facing and I wish I had the
ability to make a difference to their lives. Whilst I appreciate I cannot
fix these situations, I cannot begin to tell you how determined I am to support
young people facing adversity through BRIT and the charities we work with and
support. There is so much more to be done to help young people and I now
need to turn every day and every mile of this year into funding and support to
build and provide a lifeline for young people who are facing their darkest
times.
When writing my blogs I have
wanted to share my experiences of the Schools, Colleges, Universities,
Charities and Organisations I have walked with, and the locations I have walked
at, in a positive way. To write about the first-hand experiences and realities that
I have encountered of what young people face is an important part of my and the
BRIT journey; I feel comfortable to do this without any need or desire to
disclose any young person’s identity. Whilst far too many of their stories are
desperately sad, unfair and at times harrowing, I feel that their ability and
comfortableness to share them with me is a positive step forward for each of
the young people I have met; they are sharing their journeys without any
prompting or requests to do so. They are communicating how they feel and they
are being listened to; my desire and my mission is to make sure that BRIT
succeeds and that through their bravery to share their stories, we can help
young people to regain their self-confidence, self-belief and self-worth by
building the BRIT Centre of Inspiration.
My thanks to all the staff and
students I met today.
With my very best wishes,
Phil