BME Children & Young People

Support for BME Children & Young People

If you are a child or young person from a minority ethnic background, you probably have the same needs as any other child or young person, just with a few extra dimensions!
E.g. your parents might not speak very good English or Welsh, so they may struggle to help you with your schoolwork; you might be finding it hard to make friends in school, or may experience racism or bullying in school or in college; or you may be having lots of arguments with your parents about what you should wear, where you are allowed to go and so on…

In EYST we have a team of trained and experienced youth workers who are also from diverse minority backgrounds themselves, meaning that they will understand what you are going through, and will have the skills to support you through it. Our youth workers can engage in or work with secondary schools in Wales – so please get in touch if this is something you would like help with. Or, you could simply email youthwork@eyst.org.uk and we will get back to you very quickly.

In Swansea, we have a Youth Drop In Centre which is open Monday to Friday from 3pm to 6pm.

· Mondays and Tuesdays are Boys only Nights; Wednesdays and Thursdays are Mixed; Fridays are Girls only Nights. Here you can come drop in at any time, have a game of pool, table-tennis or use our IT suite, all in a safe, accessible and welcoming environment, supervised by our team of qualified youth workers. Our premises in Swansea are fully wheel-chair accessible.

· On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday any young person aged between 10 to 25 can attend. On Wednesday any young person between 10 to 18 can attend. We welcome any young person regardless of ethnicity, religion, sexuality or ability.

· We regularly host workshops delivered by external service providers such as the Police, Fire Service, Universities etc on specific topics of interest.

· We offer a minibus pick up service from some schools – talk to your teacher to ask if this is available in your school.

· We organise trips, activities and a range of opportunities to get involved in our different projects including our Belonging Project, BME Sports Cymru project; and more!

In Cardiff, our youth workers undertake:

· Street based and community outreach and deliver group workshop and 1:1 sessions amongst others.

· We also run a Homework Club offering free one-to-one tuition by volunteers – in partnership with SEF Cymru.

In Wrexham, our youth work involves:

· A weekly drop in youth club called ‘Cultures Youth Club’. With over 60 members joining in with lots of activities, trips and workshops. Thanks to an amazing partnership with Bawso.

· Digital 1:1 and group sessions for more targeted youth work based on young peoples needs.

· Regular home activities, quizzes and challenges

We can support young people elsewhere in Wales through digital platforms or even by phone! If you have something specific you would like help with, our youth workers offer support and help across a range of issues including:

· Bullying, Racism & Discrimination

· Family problems & Cultural Conflict

· Health & Wellbeing

· Education, Volunteering, Employment & Training

· Extremism & Exploitation

· Appropriate Adult support in Criminal Justice cases

To access any of the above email youthwork@eyst.org.uk and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Staff Members

Lee Tiratira

CYP   Lee


Roisin Jacobson

CYP   Roisin


Lenaine Foster-Bennett

CYP   Lenaine


Shahinoor Alom

CYP   Shahinoor


Jalal Goni

CYP   Jalal


Rizwan Ahmed

CYP   Rizwan


Shazia Ali

CYP   Shazia


Rumee Aktar

CYP   Rumee


Paul Thomas

CYP   Paul


Amr Alwishah

CYP   Amr