Case Study: Youth Ambassador Hasan’s story
The HDRC and Policy and Safer Bradford Teams are co funding a Youth Ambassadors programme to explore different approaches of gathering young people’s perspectives on their experiences of health and things that influence their wellbeing. This will enable their needs to be better understood so that local services can adapt to improve the outcomes and livelihoods of children and young people in Bradford.
We spotlight Hasan who is one of 11 Youth Ambassadors employed by the Youth Services team in Bradford Council and ask him about why he took up this role, his current work and future ambitions as a Youth Ambassador working in Bradford District.
How I heard about the Youth Ambassador role
“Growing up I had never really heard of or been to a youth centre even though there is one fairly close to where I live. I had only been to a local community centre on Sundays to play pool.
"During my first year at university, I was looking for a part time job to work alongside my degree and my Dad told me about this Youth Ambassador role so I applied. I didn’t know a job in youth work existed, I thought it was always volunteering. It was amazing to see there was a job and career available in this field.”
Projects I have been involved with
“When I first started my role as a Youth Ambassador, I was put in a Youth Centre in Keighley and was placed in a session which provides personalised support to young people. I also helped at the Friday sessions which offered more interactive activities such as football, table tennis, games etc.
"I worked closely with one of the youth workers on a few projects. The ‘Park Project’ helped to clean up the area to make it safer for people to use and enjoy. And then there was the ‘Bridge Project’ which was to work on a bridge that connected two areas in Keighley. The purpose was to help people around this area take ownership of the bridge. We worked with a rap artist who spoke to the young people about their experiences of living in the area. We took him to various landmarks such as the main mosque, schools, factory, eateries and the local park.
The artist then wrote a poem with the young people which has been painted onto the bridge using colourful paints to help brighten the area.
The Youth Ambassadors are also involved with some Safety of Women and Girls work to create information and awareness videos of how women feel when they are harassed or cat called. We will co-produce more videos and these will be shared with schools and youth centres to generate meaningful conversations to tackle this issue.”
How the HDRC have worked with me
“Members of Bradford Council HDRC’s team came to deliver a session to the Youth Ambassadors about the building blocks of health and the standard of living and quality of life in different areas of Bradford. One thing that shocked me was that the life expectancy changed from one area to another by about 10 years. That was just because some people lived in a more affluent area where they have better access to services, better homes, better standard of living, better food, and others living in more deprived areas having lots of takeaways, pollution and less services. This was something I did not know.
"We then did a Lego building exercise and were asked to build a sustainable city or town. As we built the towns, we spoke about what we wanted in our ideal place and made sure we had a police station, fire station, hospital, supermarket, road safety, parks and affordable homes of a good standard.
"This awareness has 100 percent changed my outlook. I don’t live in an affluent area. We have takeaways all around us. We don’t have access to lots of other services. If I’m hungry and with my friends, we just go and get a cheap takeaway. Even though our environment makes it easier for us to get a takeaway I am trying to be more mindful of the choices I make regarding my own health and environment in the long term. I’m not saying I’m not going to have takeaways now lol, but this knowledge motivates me to be more informed about public health policies and to support initiatives that aim to reduce these effects. I’m more likely to advocate for better access to healthcare, education, and healthy living conditions in my community now.
"Overall, this awareness has deepened my commitment to promoting equity and well-being both in my personal life and through the work I do.”
My future aspirations as a result of the Youth Ambassador role
“Learning that life expectancy can vary by as much as 10 years depending on where you live was a huge shock for me. This realisation has made me more aware of the profound impact that social, economic, and environmental factors can have on health outcomes. In my work, this awareness pushes me to be more empathetic and considerate when addressing issues that affect young people's lives. I want to ensure that any support I provide are tailored to the specific needs and challenges of different communities.
"This role started as a part time job for me alongside my university course. But as time went on I felt more and more used to this work and helping communities. Then one day I attended a meeting at Leeds Becket University where I saw a presentation about a career in Youth Work and the fact that there weren’t enough qualified youth workers around. I didn’t know this could be a career and this really attracted me, so I spoke to my family and youth worker, and they fully supported me to get more information about career progression in this field. I then switched courses and now Youth Work is my chosen career. I would rather work with communities and help people. For me I choose a job that I have a real satisfaction with.”
Future plans for HDRC and Youth Ambassadors
The HDRC team will continue to work with Hasan and the Youth Ambassadors to promote and discuss the often unknown wider determinants of health with the young people they work with, to help identify key priority areas that are most important to children and young people living in Bradford.
The HDRC team will work closely with the Youth Service team to capture and evaluate these insights around Youth challenges and priorities to help shape the future strategies and services within the district.