New Corby youth club attracts 50 people to 'safe space'

A new youth club in Corby has been hailed as an 'amazing' success after its first night attracted more than 50 volunteers and participants.

Hearts of Young People has been set up by a concerned Corby mum-of-two to provide a safe space for teenagers, aged 13 to 17, but the project is still to secure funding.

To show that there is a need for the Friday night youth club, Sharlene Lynch had put together a team of teenage volunteers known as ambassadors to run different activities.

Expecting a few dozen teenagers to the sports hall at Brooke Weston Academy, she was thrilled to welcome more than 50 to the event.

She said: "I feel overwhelmed that we provided a safe space for 50 young people and engaged them. They could have been outside and all it takes is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I have seen the devastation of losing a young person to knife crime and the impact on friends and family.

"Hearts of Young People will do their best to make sure that it doesn't happen again.

"I'm committed to carrying on this club, even if we don't get funding I will be doing it in the fields."

Funding applications have been made through North Northants Council and Cllr Emily Fedorowycz (Green) will be supporting the group's bid for cash.

It was in the aftermath of the murder of 16-year-old Rayon Pennycook that residents took action to help the young people.

Cllr Fedorowycz said: "After Rayon was killed last year, Sharlene came to me in tears saying that we had to do something to help the young people in Corby.

"We worked on a bid for community funding from the council and what she and the young people of the area have created since is phenomenal. It’s giving the whole community hope at a time when they need it most. Now young people can have a place to feel safe, gain confidence, have access to opportunities to things they never had before - they are all incredible individuals and they deserve this so much.

"There is so much energy there, and they just need more funding support to get them off the ground. The kids are brilliant and they are so in need of a club like this where they can come together, gain confidence and have fun. They have applied for the North Northants Council community grant and this is exactly the sort of thing that deserves this funding.

"If parents can get behind the club too it will open so many up to a whole new world of opportunities, and there are some wonderfully passionate individuals powering this project who care so much for these kids."

The Hearts of Young People group is waiting to hear if funding bids have been successful.

Prince Aird, 16, an electrical installation student from Northampton, will be working as one of the young ambassadors at the club helping with the activities including football.

He said: "We had a friend who we lost. Now we want to channel everything that we can into the youth club.

"If you start to hang around in the areas with the wrong people it can happen."

Corby Technical School student Kelly Kuziva, 16, has volunteered at the club.

She said: "We have a motto for the club, it's 'for the young people, by the young people'. This is very much led by us."

The club has been promoted through Corby secondary schools and bottles of water were donated by Lidl.

Sharlene added: "The young people are our future. The turnout was more than anything we could’ve ever imagined. This club is for the whole of Corby for young people of all different backgrounds.

"It was amazing to see each and every one of them joining in the activities that were provided. It showed that the safe space was something Corby definitely needed and it allowed more than 50 young people to have a safe space where they could work together to learn to be part of a team, build their resilience and engage with other young people in an environment that promoted their well-being."