about Dyfodol Ni
Working with young people to find new and innovative ways to improve the mental health of young people in Ceredigion
Dyfodol Ni is a Partnership of 18 organisations working with young people in Ceredigion. Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, the project aims to find new and innovative ways to improve the mental health of young people in Ceredigion.
Dyfodol Ni is youth-led, which means that young people make all the decisions about how the project is developed and run. In the Development Period of the project, it was led by a Young People’s Management Committee (YPMC), made up of young people aged 14-25. They were the sole decision-makers on the project, deciding how the project would spend its money, and directing Engagement Officers to conduct consultations and research on their behalf.
The Partnership ran 37 engagement events to bring young people together and provide opportunities for the Engagement Officers to consult with them. These events were very varied, including things like music festivals, arts and crafts, theatre workshops, sports and more, with some large events attracting more than 100 young people. The Engagement Officers spent time having conversations with young people about the project, their ambitions and hopes for the future, as well as what their ideas were for how to improve young people’s mental health in Ceredigion. Over the course of the Development Period, the Engagement Officers reached 1200 young people.
They found that there were three major issues young people in Ceredigion wanted addressed:
- The provision of safe spaces that are exclusive for young people. This was the single biggest request from young people.
- Access to services, reducing the postcode lottery of available services, ensuring that there is a diverse offering of services for young people.
- Transport as a barrier to access services.
The YPMC distilled all the information from these consultations, and took the ideas the young people came up with on board. They decided on the following projects:
Feelz on Wheelz / Llyw a Byw – a mobile youth cafe and support service which would address issues with accessing services and transport.
Safe Space to Speak / Safle Saff i Siarad’ (Sᶾ) a youth lobbying group, who will act as the representative body for young people in Ceredigion. They will work with Partners to improve services and be a vehicle for change.
