22/04/2012 Lifeline from Northern Ireland


22/04/2012

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Transcript


LineFromTo

Hello and welcome to Lifeline.

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'Today, we're at a conference on welfare reform...

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'volunteering opportunities are given a Maori-style launch here at the BBC...

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'and are these the young broadcasters of the future?'

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Those stories in a moment.

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But first, today's appeal is presented by Lindsey Armstrong

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on behalf of a charity which helps to give a voice to young people in care.

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VOYPIC have been working with young people here

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for almost 20 years,

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allowing them to have a say in the decisions that affect their lives.

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-Do you have a good relationship with your PA?

-'Young people like Rosie,

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'who know there IS a VOYPIC advocate who'll help her in a life

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'which has so far been spent living away from her family.'

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So, Rosie, how do you feel about living by yourself?

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Um...I'm positive about it, cos I think it'll go well.

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I'll have support from a social worker and my PA and VOYPIC as well.

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I think that is the key to it all.

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If things are getting difficult, ask for help.

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VOYPIC has helped me, when I was leaving care,

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to get on, like, my own two feet and be able to live on my own.

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And I've always had support from them for, like,

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problems that I've been dealing with. I've always known where to go

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and always been able to pick up the phone to them.

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'They're very supportive to myself and other young people that I know as well.'

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OK, can I just take a few wee details?

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The first thing that I would like to tell people about VOYPIC

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is that we are independent of Social Services.

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We're a Northern Ireland charity that works with young people

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who are cared for away from home.

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By that I mean that some young people can't remain

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with their parents and are cared for by extended family, live in foster families,

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or live in residential care.

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..And you would cut it...

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'VOYPIC helps children and young people to mix

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'and meet others with similar experiences.

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'The volunteer programme, Young Reps, makes sure it's them

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'who inform everything that VOYPIC does.'

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I've worked with an artist, I've done hip-hop,

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I've done outdoor pursuits, I've done loads of different things.

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It's all been great craic.

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I enjoy VOYPIC groups cos they give you opportunities to do stuff

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that you wouldn't normally get to do,

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like banana boating or canoeing.

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And it's nice knowing you're not the only one there

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that's had a care background.

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VOYPIC listens and learns from what the young people tell them about living in care,

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and they share those views with the government and other decision-makers.

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What about the training that you've received?

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-So...

-It's accredited.

-OK, it's accredited. What level?

-Level 3.

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Level 3, yeah.

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'The VOYPIC training and employment programme called Working Together For Change

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'involves training and employing care-leavers,

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'and their experiences help to inform VOYPIC's policy and research work.'

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We go in and inspect the children's homes to find out

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what their views are on the home they're in,

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and feed that back to the manager.

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And then we make recommendations.

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I have a lot of life experiences - I've been told by many people.

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But I feel that if I can take my life experiences

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and take the work I've done with VOYPIC and put that all together,

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that it'll give me a good foundation to build on in a youth-work field.

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'VOYPIC's mentoring service relies on volunteers like Thomas,

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'who's been helping Gareth with his personal development.'

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'I've achieved so, so many things that wouldn't be possible beforehand.

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'I've gained a lot of independence and confidence that's been gained'

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throughout the year that he's been with me.

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It's just been a fabulous experience, so it has.

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And all the time, he's put in a lot of time with me, so he has.

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And a lot of dedication. And he's listened very well

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to some of the problems - one of my goals was to actually talk

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a lot more than I would have been, and I've achieved that, so I have,

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so I've come a long way, so I have, yeah.

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'We met once a week, for a couple of hours a week,

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'and we were both kind of on a journey together, in the fact'

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that I was helping Gareth develop his independence skills,

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his confidence, getting him out and about a wee bit more,

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and getting him to do things for himself,

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things that he might not have done before in the past.

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It's been a privilege to work with Gareth,

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'and I'm quite proud of what he's achieved within the space of the year.'

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'We really need more mentors like Thomas.'

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We've got offices across Northern Ireland.

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We're in Ballymena, we're in Lurgan, we're in Belfast, we're in Derry.

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'If you think you could make a difference for children in care, contact us.'

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So if you're looking for a volunteering opportunity

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which really will make a difference to young people's lives,

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VOYPIC would be delighted to hear from you.

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Thank you for watching.

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If you'd like to find out more about VOYPIC

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and its volunteering opportunities, then visit their website at...

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Email them on...

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..or call them on...

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Now, concerned charities recently met at the Northern Ireland Council For Voluntary Action

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to hear more about how the Welfare Reform Act is overhauling the welfare system.

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'Charity representatives heard that it could be

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'a year before politicians here agree on similar reforms.'

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It's a massive change. It's a very radical change.

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And there are lots of people who I think will have great issues

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with that, and they'll need quite a lot of help and support.

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Our organisations, I think, are in the front line of that support,

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so we want to make sure that they really understand what is going on here.

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Now, the BBC recently hosted an event,

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allowing charities to showcase their volunteering opportunities.

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'With First Aid demonstrations...

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'a spine-chilling haka...

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'and a pre-school playgroup on stage,

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'it was an opportunity for charities and voluntary groups

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'to find the next generation of volunteers.'

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I think there are a lot of people who want to volunteer.

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People say they don't know how to get involved.

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If they aren't already a volunteer,

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they sometimes find it difficult to know where to go.

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That's why events like this are so important,

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because they do provide people with an access point to find out information

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and then to take that information and go to the organisation - or the activity - that suits them.

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'And it was lights, camera, action in Enniskillen

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'as the BBC Experience rolled into the town's library.'

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'This new initiative of ours, BBC Experience,

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'allows us to take different aspects of the BBC's work to libraries'

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right across Northern Ireland. We've got digital technologies,

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showcasing all that's happening in that area,

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radio drama, jingle making, newsreading,

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weather presenting, telling people about the work of the BBC Trust,

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and, of course, all that's in prospect with digital switchover.

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So lots to see and hear and do, and, importantly,

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a very good opportunity for us to connect with our audience.

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I think it's great for BBC Radio Ulster,

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for us to get out and about,

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because we have a great listenership,

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and it covers all of Northern Ireland,

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'and it's an opportunity for us to get out there

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-'and just let the people see what's happening on the programme.'

-I'll play a wee tune...

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'If you can make it to the Playhouse in Derry this week,

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'you can catch the Lilliput Theatre's performances.

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'Lilliput is an inspirational theatre group for people with learning disabilities,

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'and the dramas are well worth a watch.'

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Remember, you can visit our Community Noticeboard at...

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..where you'll find lots more news,

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contacts and upcoming events.

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So that's Lifeline for this April. More details on Ceefax page 619.

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I'll see you next time. Bye-bye.

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Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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