The VVU funded Respect Project is an early intervention programme run by Essex Boys and Girls Clubs for 13-14 year olds.
It’s designed to help year 9’s who are struggling in school to re-engage with their education, deal with life’s problems, build their mental resilience and self-confidence and improve their mental wellbeing – teaching them how to cope with personal challenges and overcome problems.
The programme is delivered over eight weeks where the young people concentrate on life skills sessions, focusing on attributes such as teamwork, emotional resilience, confidence and accountability. These skills are then put into practice at a week-long residential in the Lake District.
Research shows that completing activities where young people work together to overcome challenges, particularly in outdoor settings, have a proven positive impact on improving mental health, cooperative behaviours, self-esteem, social skills and attitudes, and, in turn reducing behavioural difficulties and reducing overall risk factors for them.
We recently followed the Colchester group of young people on the Respect Project, tracking the progress they made and the personal journeys they took to complete the programme.
You can view our evaluation of the Respect Project here and see how it fits into the wider Violence and Vulnerability work programme and our determination to help children, young people and their families live happier lives away from serious violence.