Dear Partners, Supporters and families,
We are striving to fulfil our mission to ‘support young people and their families in the community, building trusting relationships to help equip them with the skills, resilience and opportunities to thrive’. At Motiv8 we have updated our 5-year Strategic Plan from 2019 – 2024 and you can read a full copy on our website.
Now more than ever, we believe our plan is the right one to ensure that we are able to respond to our local communities. We are committed to constantly reviewing our provision in line with government guidance alongside supporting young people and families when they need it most. Lockdown is only the start of more challenges for young people and their families; building upon over 20 years of experience of supporting the community we will continue to take a long term commitment.
How have Motiv8 been supporting local young people and families?
In the last three months, we have grown and adapted our services to ensure young people and families can continue to access support, advice, and guidance. Young people have been gaining skills, connecting to opportunities, and improving their emotional well-being and resilience. We have strived to do this in the following ways:
- Moved to a digital one-to-one mentoring support offer for all young people.
- Extended support through messaging, telephone calls, email and through video meetings to all families that need support.
- Assisted young people and families in gaining access to tablets/iPad's with connection to the internet so that they can complete school work and receive mental health and well-being activities from their support workers.
- Created group online positive activities for young people and families which are easily accessible. This includes: creative writing, quizzes, competitions, emotional health and well-being peer support, and weekly bulletins with helpful links and information.
- Provided online employment support for young people worried about their future employment and education opportunities.
- We have undertaken emergency welfare visits where there are significant safeguarding concerns.
- In partnership with our funders Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation, Wave 105 Cash for Kids, Hive Portsmouth, Neighbourly, and Tesco we have been able to support local families experiencing extreme financial hardship through the purchase and delivery of food parcels, educational resources, positive well-being activities, and assistance with utility bills.
- With the relaxing of social distancing measures, we have introduced a ‘walk and talk’ service and additional detached (on street) provision enabling face-to-face meetings with young people whilst maintaining a social distance.
- Our social enterprise Bicycle Recycling has continued to provide Key Worker servicing for bikes through the Portsmouth City Council ‘Bike Dr’ scheme. This has enabled key workers to travel to and from work.
Thank you to our staff and volunteers
We wish to celebrate and thank our staff and volunteers who have been committed, creative, and most of all passionate about the needs of young people and families ensuring they have been supported during recent months. Thank you.
What do Motiv8 plan to do now?
We recognise that young people and families will continue to face a number of challenges emerging from this difficult period. Over the coming weeks and months, we will be considering and progressing plans to safely increase our face-to-face provision in line with Government guidance. Virtual support is not always the preferred method of engagement and can have limitations. We are working closely with our partner schools, community safety teams, and other support services to adapt so that we can support young people across our local communities, to be there when they need it most, ensuring that they have the opportunities they need to thrive.
For any further information please get in touch info@motiv8south.org.uk