Blackburn with Darwen: Authoring Our Own Stories

Young people from BwD Youth Forum and Youth Action have been participating in Authoring Our Own Stories, a national project exploring how young people’s civic identities affect their access to services. Two focus groups and a survey gave young people the opportunity to share their experiences. Their findings were presented to decision makers, alongside artwork and recommendations at the project’s final event at Blackburn College on 13 October.

Young people highlighted four main issues:

Identity: Services lack diversity and inclusion. Recommendations include training for adults, identity-focused sessions and safe opportunities for young people to express themselves.

Costs: Travel and activity costs prevent some young people from taking part. Recommendations included free or subsidised activities and transport support.

Accessibility: Disabled young people described barriers to accessing services. Recommendations include improved wheelchair access, technology, mental health support, sign language provision and sensory spaces.

Places to go: Young people wanted more affordable activities, welcoming places to socialise, better information about services and more provision in isolated areas. They also called for youth voice opportunities to be available to all.

We hope decision makers will consider these recommendations and continue the conversations started by the project.