Feature Project - The Attic

 

As part of our regular feature, we present to you excerpts of interview with Bruce White from The Attic, a registered charity that is based in Kirkton and works with children, young people and families in Dundee.  

Tell us about your work.

We moved to Kirkton from Hilltown little less than a year back. Although our heart still lies in children and youth work, we are now gradually focusing towards addressing the needs of the families and local community. Our activities include running kids club for children aged 5-11 years, clanz group for 11-16 years, lunch club, parent-toddler book bug group, and organizing camps and trips for young people. We also regularly interact with families through home visits and have recently initiated a community gardening project. We recognize that community projects are built on valuing relationships with families, thus, we want to create a place for people to engage, access our services and use our space to encourage community development.      

What is the connection of your project with Faith?

Most of us working at the Attic come from a Christian faith background. Our faith is the motivation for what we do – it teaches us the meaning of love, care and compassion like honouring your parents. Faith is something that is not just for oneself but to be shared with others. We run bible a study group. But we offer our activities to people from various faith and non-faith backgrounds. Our work is relational in nature and is based on trust and friendship. Some families were initially unsure, but they liked us as a group of people. And as they saw how we worked, they felt safe to engage with us. At the end of it all, it is about how genuine you are and how committed you are to support the community.  

What do you think has been the impact of your work on young people in Kirkton and its neighbouring areas?

More than anything else, I think we have created a real and informal space for the young people to use. They do what they feel like doing here at the Attic -sometimes, they just drop in and hang out with their friends. Other times, they participate in various activities and workshops including arts, baking, debates on topical issues and so forth. For them, it is their ‘place’ – there is a sense of ownership. Lot of times, we get together with our young volunteers and eat meals together. All of this seems to boost their confidence, and they feel that they are part of an extended family. At the moment, we have about 40-60 children attending kids club and 20-30 young people attending clanz, while another 10-20 families use our services.     

What have been the key challenges for your project? Did you face any issues when you moved your base to Kirkton? 

Because there was an absence of a project like this in Kirkton for nearly two years, everyone seemed excited to have us around. We felt welcomed by the church, the community centre and the local families. The key challenge perhaps was whether we will be able to meet their expectation or not. And perhaps on a practical level, we are only 2 staff members at the moment and open for specific timings while we know that the locals would prefer us to open throughout the week.      

Considering that you have become popular amongst youths in Kirkton area in a short span of time, what do you think has worked for you?

What works for us is that we are very passionate about our work, and our faith supports our commitment. We also work very hard. Over the years, we have worked towards building a strong group of 20 volunteers who have a sense of accountability for the project. We have also received support from the Council, in terms of funding and space, and that immensely helps the project.

 

What has been some of your key learning around running the Attic project?

It is very important to understand the real need of the community. You can look at statistics to derive evidences, but it’s critical to talk to the people living in the community. And more importantly, you need to involve the locals in developing and implementing the project. For example, it was the young people who chose the name ‘the attic lounge’ – they designed the logo and painted the hoarding board. That’s why they feel that Attic is their place. It is also vital to invest in your leaders and value your volunteers. While volunteers could work in a particular aspect of the project, it is important to engage them with the wider team. Faith has also been a common thread for all of us working at the Attic. 

Any message to people who are planning to start youth or similar projects like yours?

Before you start anything in your local area, listen to people’s stories and find out what is going on in our community.

Address: 2-6 Beauly Avenue Dundee DD3 7AG

Telephone: 01382 884 336

Website: http://theattic.btck.co.uk/