Healthwatch Visit The Princes Trust!

Today - 23/09/2024 - George, Lee and Charlie ran down to Groundworks to go meet the new team on The Princes Trust. The Princes Trust is a youth employment and confidence course, for anyone over 16 and under 25 who needs a hand getting a job and something to put on their CV - plus, yknow, confidence, interpersonal skills and a bit of the basics. They provide work experience, a residential for a week (basically a little teambuilding and camping trip) plus a little project to do up your community. Charlie, who joined Healthwatch through the Princes Trusts work experience, lead the little visit. (Or tried to, thanks McCauley :l.)

After everyone had funnelled in and a quick catch up with the tutors Katie and Leanne (Leanne, 'famous' Healthwatch veteran and pretty popular for her work with the youth), Charlie started his little speech. Telling the team - teams are what they call classes on the course - his name and a little about how he wants to be a journalist in the far, far future, he told them how much he enjoyed the course, how it did genuinely turn his life around and help him make some incredible friends with the confidence it gave him. How attending every day got him a fun little £100 Love2Shop voucher - because if you skip a little too much they knock it down to £50 - and how it helped him get a dream opportunity (No, this isn't organisational ego, because it's Charlie writing, I promise.). Even a little bit about how although he didn't enjoy the Yorkshire trip as much as others, it was still a lot of fun and justified going on the course if that is really the only thing you take from it, just because it really is a lot of fun.

Next up was a rundown of Healthwatch. What we do, who we are, where we are and what surveys you should fill out since we were there already. So, they got the usual, Healthwatch is a healthcare advocacy service that is here for you, if you have a problem with any sector of healthcare - public, private, care, dentistry and more you can give us a call and we can do something about your complaint, we have the legal power to bring about change for the public good, so it's not like we just sit on our hands and do nothing with your info. We exist to make your life easier, and likely a little longer. Then another bit on the benefits of volunteering with us and how it'll put you in very good stead to progress your career, even if it's something completely unrelated to our sector, something you do here would be relevant, we are varied in out work. Plus, you get to make the world a nicer place, is that so bad?

Of course throughout we chatted about other things, about how on member of the course plays American football for the England team, how another works for Youth Focus North West - if you're interested in us, they're a group worth looking into -, the struggles of mental health and even someone's child!

All in all, it was a fun little visit. Some people may of been 'convinced' to follow our socials, but 20p is 20p at the end of the day. There was a lot of laughter and a lot of potential in that room, and it's all going somewhere good. If you're interested in The Princes Trust, for yourself or a young person, do look into it. It's worth it. And of anyone we met yesterday has read this far, Hi, it's Charlie, stick with it. Seriously, that course can and will turn your life around. Unless it was just exhaustion, some of you definitely seemed a little anxious, quiet even - then again, can we call that visit quiet? Here's my advice, genuinely, when they throw you into teambuilding activities, or groups to work together, throw on some fake confidence, be a little chatty, try and instigate a few conversations between everyone if your team is still in the 'a little awkward phase', then it'll all sort itself. And if you have that confidence (You know who you are), try and make people who don't talk to each other talk to each other. Worst case, you make a friend who'll stick around. And if you want this advice in person, come knock on Healthwatch. Just being there, you're in the right spot, you're going places.