Council youth workers were sent to work in the area and a youth group was set up with the help of Government funding.
Fast forward a couple of years and the youth group is now run by a dedicated group of young people who not only meet to have fun, but also organise litter picks, graffiti removal… and even sit on the local residents’ association!
Faced with the threat of closure due to lack of funds, the group have just learnt they have been successful in a bid for £12,500 from the Youth Opportunity Fund.
Wigan Council youth worker Tony Russell said: “By the end of February we would have been shut and the young people would not have had anywhere to go again. They applied for the funding themselves and are delighted as this now means they can stay open for at least another year.”
Tony continued: “There used to be a real ‘us and them’ feeling between the young people and the community.
“Now they are a real asset to the area and people will actually come to them for help with community matters.”
Ian Brown from Raretara, the local residents’ association, said: “A year ago if I walked past a gang of young people I would be scared that I’d get abuse. Now I know they are more likely to come up to me and ask about when the next residents’ association meeting is.
“The area used to be a real hotspot for anti-social behaviour but that has gone right down. We are all amazed at how far these young people have come.”
James Jones, 16, chair of the young people’s committee that run the group, said: “We were always getting stereotyped so when we set up the group we wanted to prove that we weren’t bad kids.
“We organised some community events and also went to speak to the residents’ association. Now we join forces on a lot of things.
“So many people in the community have helped and worked with us like the police, St Luke's Church, Ashton Town Football Club and the local Labour club.
“We organised the fundraising event for the same reason we do all the litter picks and community days – because we don’t want people to think we are just taking from the community without giving anything back.”
The group meets every Monday from 6.30 – 9pm, at Ashton Town Football Club in Edge Green Street. New members are always welcome.
