Making a difference: Tyrese on why he loves youth work

Why did you come to Salmon?

I found out about Salmon through Mark Blundell (ex-Director at Salmon) when I was helping him to design and come up with a name for a future youth centre. Mark suggested that I come to Salmon and try out the Youth Work Apprenticeship. Before that, I had worked at a primary school and I really enjoyed working with young people. This made we want to give youth work a try.

What’s your motivation for working with young people?

When I was doing an apprenticeship in Sports Coaching previously, I didn’t do much sports coaching but instead had to help in classes and also worked with a student one on one. When the student was asked, “What is your favourite part of the week?”, he said the time he spent one on one with me. This was a very proud moment for me and also an eye-opener. His choice showed me that I was making a real difference and I wanted to continue making that difference.

What sessions do you do at Salmon?

I am currently in several sessions, Monday to Friday: 10-13s Girls Club, 10-13s Mixed Club, four football sessions across the week, 6-9s Club, Mixables and Mixters, 14-16s Mixed Club, and then Bacons College outreach sessions on Tuesday and Friday mornings.

What’s your favourite session?

My favourite session is Tennis which is on Tuesdays. This is my favourite session as I have a better relationship with the young people and I’m given more responsibilities. Helping the young people is fun but I also ensure that they’re making progress and improving in their tennis abilities.

What trips have you been on so far?

At the beginning of December, Salmon paid for all of the apprentices to go to a two-day mental health first aid course. This was very fortunate and helped me to see mental health as very serious and helped me to understand that there are all types of illnesses. This course will help me in future to be there for people who have poor mental health and provide support for them.

Towards the end of December, I went on two other trips. We took the 6-9s Club to a pantomime in Peckham and we took the Mixables group to the London Carols in Wembley.

The pantomime trip was perfect for the 6-9s age group as they really enjoyed it. It was nice at the end as we were also able to get a picture with the actors. The Mixables trip highlighted the Christian faith to the Mixables and allowed them to see God through a different light through singing and acting. They were both good trips and I really enjoyed myself.