Stan Hazell reports on an open house for teenagers in Bristol

“If they swear in my company they have to do 10 press-ups,” says Zoe Williams (pictured right) of the youngsters in the football team she runs as part of Enough, a Christian youth project in Hartcliffe, one of the most deprived parts of Bristol. When the team started, all the boys had been in trouble with the police; this year, only one. The team now mentor other teenagers – including in behaviour management – at a Community Hour.

The football team is just one of many activities Zoe and her fellow youth worker Suzie Gardiner (pictured left) provide for young people and their families. Helped by a team of volunteers they provide stability and fresh values for a growing number of teenagers, many of them vulnerable and from troubled backgrounds, some with a history of petty crime and anti-social behaviour.

Zoe and Suzie shared a vision of setting up a home in Hartcliffe which would be open to young people in the community. They found a house to rent and, as they began to build links with teenagers, their vision began to materialise. “Groups of young men began knocking on the door and wanting to hang out in the house,” says Zoe. It led to the launch of the Enough project, with fixed activity times supported by the Woodlands City Church which Zoe and Suzie attend. …

Stan Hazell is a journalist and publicity consultant. For more about the Enough project, visit www.404enough.co.uk
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This is an extract from the October 2013 edition of  Reform.

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