This has been copied straight from our old site - it may look slightly odd and probably only works in Internet Explorer (thanks to being originally done in FrontPage!)
It also talks about our old name, Streetwise Youth.
Please note that a later annual report is available here.
"When you or any young person comes to Streetwise Youth the doors are always opened for you, and you will be accepted no matter who you are or where you come from" (Client)
Have
you ever paid a tenner for a hand job or have you just bought someone dinner in
the hope of having sex later? Is there a difference? What are you doing when you
go to a job interview? - selling
yourself.
But
what are you selling? There’s a chance that if you’re reading this you’ve
never had to sell your body...at least not for the ‘privilege of having
somewhere to stay for the night. Many of us will however have accepted or given
gifts is part of the process of “getting
laid”. How often have you seen or heard men (usually) expressing annoyance or
frustration because the object of their affections refused to kiss/shag etc
after a night out financed by the man. This is not just about men and women, gay
men do this to each other as well. Seduction is a tricky art. There is always
the chance you won’t get your own way with the other person, which in itself
may be part of the attraction. The young men we work with here, often don’t
have the privilege of this ambiguity. Many of them find themselves in situations
where usually an older man is buying him drinks or a meal with the intention of
having sex later but without the explicitness of a straightforward
transaction.
The
young men attending Streetwise Youth are socially vulnerable for a number
of reasons. Many are homeless, estranged from their families, have problematic
alcohol and or drug use, and are often selling sex in circumstances over which
they have little control. A high percentage are gay men that have had experiences
of homophobia and have felt isolated and unsupported around issues related
to their sexuality. Social vulnerability has been seen as insignificant in
the transmission of HIV throughout the world, as the virus has spread along
the social ‘fault lines’ of society. It disproportionately affects the most
marginal and disempowered people. Certainly the vulnerability of the young
men we work with at Streetwise Youth places them at risk from infection with
HIV and other STI’s.
Homelessness
is often an issue for the young men when they first visit Streetwise Youth.
Roughly 75% identify housing as a need that they require support with.
Invariably they have been sleeping rough on the streets, staying with punters or
staying with friends. They may have been made homeless by being ejected from the
family home, because they have run away from an intolerable situation or for
numerous other reasons. Homelessness can put these young men in dangerous
situations where they are open to exploitation.
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At
a recent conference, Dr Rachel Leheup, a psychiatrist working with young
people addressed the fact that many of the young people involved in
selling sex are detached from most of the social structures many of us
take for granted: families, lasting relationships, being able to ask for
help etc. so that by the time a young person has been met by an agency
they may have little trust in the adult world. For this reason they may exhibit chaotic behaviour which can result in them being labelled as problematic. The institutional response is often to refer these people to a list of professionals. Currently there are two ways of looking at this network, often we (professionals) regard it as a safety net, but Dr Leheup suggested that to the young person it actually resembles a huge spider...a many-legged scary creature. |
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With
a history of being failed by adults why should the young person respond to
this range of adults? What should happen is that one of these
professionals manages a break-through and uses the network without passing
the young person around. That’s how we see our role here at Streetwise Youth. We aim to be patient, to tolerate broken appointments and spasmodic use of the service because we hope that our persistence will pay off and that these young men will work with us and through that engage positively with other life choices. This can start with something as simple as a shower and a hot meal in an environment where we don’t make judgments for selling/exchanging sex. “Working
at Streetwise Youth has given me a greater depth of experience and
broadened my outlook as a Shiatsu practitioner. I have developed a
compassion and understanding for young men working in the sex industry
(which I previously lacked), which has been both educational and fun. The
staff are extremely supportive and there is as strong sense of working
within boundaries that makes SWY a secure and pleasant place to work..”
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One of the reasons for this project to exist is to change attitudes about selling sex and the people who sell it. It’s not our primary task, which is more immediate and basic: providing a meal, access to laundry and shower facilities, a safe space to congregate in and emphatic and skilled people to relate to. So
while this group has very definite and distinct needs one of the aims of
SWY is to affirm the “normality” of each person who comes here by
recognising each person’s situation without being judgmental and by
encouraging the individual to explore options. |
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However
in the work we do with colleagues in other sectors, members of the public
and people like you now reading this we have a message that we all
compromise ourselves to get along in life, sometimes freely and other
times because we feel we have no other choice.. we’re not that different
to the young men who use this place. The
Management Committee and Staff would like to thank the work of Gerard
Calvert and Robert Downes who were responsible for rebuilding the project
five years ago. Thanks to them and their expertise we are poised to make
exciting changes to our work. “I
would not have got by if it were not for the support and all the help I
got from SWY. Going to SWY was the best days for me. Knowing I could talk
to staff about my feelings and having good food to eat. It made me feel
that someone cared about me and still does. It was very nice to have
someone there always to talk to. The staff at SWY made me believe and
showed me that I was someone and could do a lot with my life. And
how did they do all of this with me? Let me tell you, by letting me have
their time and being kind to me, that was a very big part of it. I have
talked to members of staff about things that I could never talk to my
family about, giving me full support and letting me know they were there
for me. After, I came to prison for the first time in my life. Again it
was help from SWY that got me by. They even got time to come and see me,
to talk to me and wanted to know for sure how I was getting looked after.
Just getting to talk to someone when you are in prison is a lot. When you
can trust the other person it’s even better. I can find all this when
I’m talking to staff at SWY. As I know and always did, I’m in safe
hands” (Client) |
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SUMMARY
OF ACCOUNTS: 1999 Abridged Financial
Statement
The
following abridged financial information constitutes non-statutory accounts in
accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice No 2 (SORP 2), Accounting
by Charities issued by the Charity Commissioners in October 1995, and in
accordance with applicable accounting standards. The financial information for the year ended 31 March 1999 on
which the auditors, Pricewaterhouse Coopers gave an unqualified audit opinion.
Copies
of the full statutory accounts have been filed with the Charities Commission and
Companies House and may be obtained on request from the Company Secretary.
|
Incoming
Resources |
Unrestricted Funds £ |
Restricted
Funds £ |
Total
Funds 1999 £ |
Total
Funds 1998 £ |
|
Grants receivable from government and other public
bodies |
189,125 |
30,946 |
220,071 |
197,462 |
|
Charitable Trusts |
70,203 |
78,903 |
149,106 |
84,543 |
|
Corporate donations |
|
|
|
|
|
Sundry donations |
3,219 |
|
3,219 |
2,326 |
|
Investment Income |
2,874 |
|
2,874 |
1,592 |
|
Other income |
1,696 |
|
1,696 |
3,042 |
|
Total
Incoming Resources |
269,117 |
109,849 |
376,966 |
288,965 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Resources
Used |
|
|
|
|
|
Support Costs |
110,897 |
109,849 |
220,746 |
224,927 |
|
Fundraising & Publicity |
33,148 |
|
33,148 |
32,749 |
|
Management and Administration |
62,770 |
|
62,770 |
65,528 |
|
Total
resources used |
206,815 |
109,849 |
316,664 |
323,204 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net Income |
60,302 |
|
60,302 |
(34,239) |
|
Fund Balance Brought Forward |
17,741 |
|
17,741 |
46,985 |
|
Transfer from/(to) capital expenditure reserve |
|
|
|
4,995 |
|
Fund
Balances carried forward |
78,043 |
|
78,043 |
17,741 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Represented
by |
|
|
|
|
|
Fixed Assets |
|
|
2,496 |
3,962 |
|
Debtors |
|
|
382 |
6,158 |
|
Cash at bank and in hand |
|
|
118,847 |
28,874 |
|
Liabilities due within one year |
|
|
(39,720) |
(17,291) |
|
Total
net assets |
|
|
82,005 |
21,703 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reserves |
|
|
|
|
|
Income & Expenditure Account |
|
|
78,043 |
17,741 |
|
Capital Expenditure reserve |
|
|
3,962 |
3,962 |
|
Members’
Fund – Equity Interests |
|
|
82,005 |
21,703 |
|
Patrons:
|
Management Committee: Appointments
since March 2000 |
|
Staffing
April 1998 to end March 1999 Gerard
Calvert – Director (until August 1999) |
Staffing
changes since April 1999
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