Artillery Youth Centre

Artillery Youth Centre is a youth led project for young adults based at two locations in North Belfast. Founded in 1969,  it has been at the heart of the community and at the forefront of innovative youth work practice since.   We operate a young adult facility in the New Lodge area and the Northside Educational Resource Centre on the Antrim Road which works with groups from throughout the city.  It is independent and works with marginalised groups including young parents, young offenders, and youth at risk and school refusers.  The key aim of the project is to foster a climate where innovative and creative work with children, young people and their families can be delivered. 

Current work includes; the management of the New Lodge Area Project which works on a range of projects around the themes of employment, empowerment, education and poverty – this work includes the development of a number of social economy projects, a youth bank, an advice unit and a youth forum.  We also manage Artillery Youth Centre which has a youth run cyber café, a drop in project and an outreach initiative.  The Young Parents Project works with parents under the age of 25 and their dependents and the Youth Safety Project which addresses issues such as domestic violence and its effects on young people and the effects of violent and risk taking behaviours.  We also manage the Hub which is a multimedia facility that has a video training project and a DJ school with nationally accredited training.

We host a community based Youth bank which gives grants to young people throughout North Belfast which are assessed and managed by young adults.  We also head up a partnership to deliver the Second Chance Programme which is supported by the Collaboration and Innovation Fund at DEL.

 Managed by a Steering Group of local people, the project engenders the participation and empowerment of young people.  Our staff team are professionally qualified or in professional training and are from the North of the City.

Artillery currently pilots the Northside YSP and has worked with parents, youth workers and young people to examine the issues facing young people in the New Lodge, Carrickhill, Newington, Dunmore and Docks areas.  We have developed an action plan and worked with a number of agencies to develop this including DSD, the BELB, Youth Justice, Queens University department of Criminology and Belfast City Council Community Safety Team.

Those young people involved in the Northside YSP are those most at risk of exclusion and engagement in risk taking behaviours.  Through this programme we intend to involve them in the delivery of programmes that will offer solutions to issues facing young adults and their families in these communities.

Artillery has been involved in a year round Youth Intervention Project aimed at involving young people from Interface areas in a range of programming that will both build their social capital and provide opportunities for them to participate in social education initiatives.  This work is supported by the Youth Justice Agency and the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.

The process has involved outreach and detached youth work; involving young people and their families in decision making; positive activities including adventure learning and outdoor education; volunteering and mentoring programmes and educational support.

A recent report by KMPG on youth intervention stated that  what set Artillery apart was that it had :

 “Inspirational, dedicated, dynamic, suitably qualified and experienced Youth Workers who are cognisant of the issues facing the local community. All staff live within the local area but it was noted by the Lead Youth Worker that all of the Youth Workers were required to have formal qualifications: being from the local area was important but not enough in itself. The commitment of both staff and volunteers was apparent. “

http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/index/equality/equalityresearch/research-publications/gr-pubs.htm