As the days grow colder, Eden Court have been reflecting on their successful summer programme, CashBack Next Steps Under Canvas. The programme brought young people together after a long period of restrictions to have fun and get creative in their outdoor, festival-style tent.
For the duration of the summer holidays, young people were able to spend time together outside in the tent three days a week. Activities included DJing, film making, music making, photography, dancing, and even a silent disco!
Both staff and participants enjoyed having the chance to socialise, chat and make art together throughout the summer months. Dave Martin, CashBack facilitator, said:
“It felt amazing and the response from everyone was great. Everyone felt that it was a good, uplifting and confidence boosting experience and from that we had a lot of the participants who have re-joined us for CashBack sessions that will run throughout the year.”
Barbara Brown, Young Carers Development Worker at Connecting Young Carers, reflected that the sessions gave the Young Carers group an opportunity to unwind and have fun, away from their caring responsibilities. She said:
“Working with the Eden Court team this summer was superb. Our Young Carers were given the opportunity to meet up for fun and creative days, make new friends, learn new skills and get a break from their caring role. For some it was their first event since the pandemic began so really special for them.
Those who took part said it was really exciting getting to use the professional equipment for film and music sessions and it gave them the confidence to continue to explore this as an area they want to work in in the future.
The summer sessions were a great interactive and creative event for our Young Carers and we look forward to more work with the team!”
In October, staff were able to get the young people back together at Eden Court to catch up, create a film and record their own track, something that the participants approached with huge enthusiasm! Barbara was thrilled to see the young people enjoying themselves as they took part in the October session, commenting:
“The weeks over summer with the Eden Court CashBack team were a great way for our Young Carers group to get a taster for all things creative. Some developed a real passion for film and music whilst also making new friends, building in confidence and trying out new things. It has been amazing to take the group back this October to continue building on these skills and get a more in depth look at their creative ideas. Watching the group light up when talking about film or music has been really special. Stopping for lunch usually gives our group a chance for a break and a breather but they were just so excited about their project ideas they kept chatting whilst lunching!! Awesome to see!
Thanks CashBack Inverness Team!”
Listen to the track recorded by the young people at the October session below.
