Our Work
Our Youth Work
There are a number of different ways for young people to get involved.
For Young People of Colour: We run regular youth spaces each month, holiday activities and public events, all of which you can check out on our events page or through our social media. We also provide ways for young people to share their experiences, through opportunities such as our ‘Free Writers’ project and others. Our youth work also involves 1-1 pastoral support for young people within our network, as well as our advocacy work, which you can read more about below.
All Young People: All young people across Greater Manchester are encouraged to order from our free bookshelf which goes out on social media, and to come to our public events. We now host a bi-monthly solidarity youth space for all young people aged 19-25, and details can be found on our events page. If you are a young person who needs advocacy support in our areas of focus, but do not identify as a young person of colour, you are welcome to reach out and we will still offer guidance, support or signpost.
If you have any questions about getting involved, please get in touch.
Advocacy and Campaigning
We work to actively challenge racism, and in doing so offer advocacy support to young people of colour (individuals or groups) and families. We are best equipped to offer support in relation to the education system, policing, or the criminal injustice system. We use our position and expertise to put pressure on institutions and organisations, offer guidance, and connect people to our legal networks.
We are known for our work that challenges the collective punishment of our young people, as seen through our Free The Manchester 10 campaign, which saw successful appeals for young people in the Royal Courts of Justice. You can learn more about our advocacy positions through our 'resources' page.
As an organisation, we remain independent from the police so you can trust the integrity of our advocacy work. In practice, this includes (but is not limited to) not working in partnership with them, not taking funding connected to them, and avoiding communication with them where legally possible. Our interactions with the police are limited to intervening if witness to harm, or supporting young people in custody.
To request our support, contact us.
External Sessions and Spaces
As well as our core youth spaces, we hold safe spaces for young people of colour in schools and youth group settings to explore topics important to each group. These can be one off, or a series of up to 6 sessions. Session topics that regularly come up in our youth spaces include:
Sharing and celebrating culture; solidarity across our communities; colourism; racism in education; resistance to racism and self care; racism and social media; navigating intersecting identities
For more information on our youth spaces and/or to explore booking some in for young people of colour you work with, please contact us. You can also request them as young people.
Boys and Love Project
Boys & Love is our project for boys* of colour in Greater Manchester, dedicated to love and self-discovery, whilst amplifying the voices and shared experiences of our communities. Together, we delve into a wide range of themes including; self-love, solidarity, intersectionality, challenging toxic masculinity, advocating for feminism, celebrating cultural identity, love of community and planet.
Through thought-provoking conversations, critical thinking and inspiration from activists past to present, this project seeks to dismantle ideas about how boys and men practice love and encourage dialogue that empowers and uplifts boys of colour to be their true selves. We hope this will be a journey of self-fulfilment, healing and joy as we explore the theme of ‘love’.
*This includes cis boys, trans boys, and non-binary people.
If you want to run this project in your school or youth group, or you want to join open sessions, contact us.