We are thrilled and delighted that the Youth Agency has been awarded the LGBT Gold Charter by LGBT Youth Scotland.
The LGBT Gold Charter recognises commitment to LGBT rights and equality along with excellence in best practice. The Youth Agency are honoured to be the first youth work organisation in Edinburgh to receive this award.
In 2018 we became the first youth work organisation in South West Edinburgh to achieve the Bronze Charter. Achieving this award was a big event for us and a recognition of our commitment to fully embracing LBGT rights and promoting equality. However, we thought we could do more and go further and that is what we set out to do.
Our journey to gold began in 2022 and the 18 months we have spent working towards this award has been both enlightening and challenging. While it has been heartening to see what we do well receive recognition, we have also been pushed to be better.
Among the highlights have been working with our partner agencies to complete the Trans Top Tips document, delivering multi-agency training with LGBT Youth Scotland, Healthy Respect and LAYC to promote LGBT-inclusive practice, and participating in the fantastic Youth Pride Zone as part of the Edinburgh Pride Festival.
Feeback from LGBT Youth Scotland said “Your organisation has worked really hard over the Charter Journey to integrate inclusivity into your service, benefitting LGBTQ+ service users and staff. This is a collective effort and every person who has completed training, attended events, and participated in the journey should be proud of their positive contribution.”
We hope our services reflect the journey that we have been on, the lessons that we have learned and the relationships we have built. Ultimately, it is our wish that our staff, volunteers and all the young people using Youth Agency services feel safe, valued and free to be themselves.
Busy March
It’s been a busy month at The Youth Agency. As well as our drop-in, health drop-in and individual support work we have been working in Forrester High School with all S2 and S4 pupils covering their sexual health and relationship sessions. In total we have worked with over 250 pupils...
Helping to turn Scotland purple!
We had a great time last week celebrating LGBT History Month and helping to turn Scotland purple. We threw ourselves wholeheartedly into LGBT Youth Scotland’s Purple Friday celebrations to show our support for LGBT communities and to stand up to homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in whatever form it may take...
Merry Christmas from all at the Youth Agency
Merry Christmas from all at the Youth Agency. We’ve had a wonderful week celebrating with lots of young people at our drop-in and different groups. We wish everyone a happy and peaceful New Year and look forward to seeing everyone again in January!...
S5 Sexual Health
Our block of S5 sexual health work in Forrester High School wrapped up this week. We spent a total of four weeks with each of the five classes looking at healthy relationships, confidence in decision-making relating to sexual health and relationships, risk taking behaviour, STI’s and ways to keep ourselves...
MVP Success
Our Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) programme is nearly complete in school for another year. Our S6 mentors have worked exceptionally hard over the last 12 weeks learning and practicing MVP lessons. They have spent the last two weeks working with S1 pupils to deliver inspiring lessons to their younger...
Parliamentary Recognition
The Youth Agency is delighted to receive support and recognition from our local MSP Gordon MacDonald who lodged a motion in the Scottish Parliament to acknowledge our achievement in gaining the LGBT Youth Scotland Bronze Charter Mark. The full motion read as follows: Motion S5M-14370: Gordon MacDonald, Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish...
LGBT Bronze Charter Award
The Youth Agency were so delighted to recently become the first voluntary organisation in South West Edinburgh to be awarded the LGBT Youth Scotland Bronze Charter Mark. We were presented with our award in the Pyramid. As promised here are some photos of the event….. Thanks to Ann Marriott who...
Our Rainbow Logo!
You may have noticed that the banner logo on our website has changed. This exciting, and colourful, change is for one day only and is to celebrate two significant events, both of which are happening today. First up, it’s #Nationalcomingout day and the Youth Agency are delighted to be showing...
Sexual Health Work
It’s great to be working with Forrester High School S6 pupils on sexual health. We are three weeks into an eight week programme and enjoying the sessions, and their company, more than ever! We’re looking forward to the next five weeks. Let’s hope it’s just as engaging and enjoyable as...
MVP Launch
As the new school term kicked off The Youth Agency had a wonderful day launching Mentors in Violence Prevention with the entire S6 cohort at Forrester High School. Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP for short) is a project designed to challenge violence, intimidation and bullying behaviour in our schools and...
The Youth Agency’s Sunny July
July at the Youth Agency was all about the sun, warm days, bright nights and planning, planning and more planning! Our drop-in has continued uninterrupted during the summer. Following our fruit bonanza last month, our cooking has stuck with the summer theme. We managed to squeeze in two cooking session...
Visit from MSP Gordon Macdonald
It was a real pleasure to welcome Gordon Macdonald and his office manager, Sarah Masson, to The Youth Agency today. We had a great chat about the area, the issues local young people are facing as well as The Youth Agency and our work. Many thanks to both Gordon and...
June Highlights
June was a busy month at the Youth Agency. As schools, teachers and pupils prepared to pack up for the summer, we bade a very fond farewell to the outgoing sixth year and welcomed the new. The senior pupils enjoyed a hectic few weeks of festivities which began with the...
Award Season!
Massive congratulations to Cerise Gander for winning this year’s Youth Agency Award for Personal Achievement at the Forrester High School awards ceremony. The Youth Agency acknowledges and celebrates academic and sporting attainment at the same time as recognising that success comes in many forms and guises. This award is presented...
Kelpies Supernova Light Run
The Kelpies Supernova 5K Run returns for 2018 with events taking place on Friday 9th November (8pm), Saturday 10th November (7pm) and Sunday 11th November (5pm) promising a spectacular weekend of running for all the family. Kicking off in the evening the run takes place in the dark but, don’t...
AmazonSmiles
Wester Hailes Youth Agency is delighted to be a charity partner of amazon.co.uk through their AmazonSmiles schemes. AmazonSmiles is a way for shoppers to give back to their communities while shopping with the online retailer. It’s wonderfully simple to use. Just select Wester Hailes Youth Agency as your charity partner...
Supermarket Sweep
A huge, heartfelt thank you to Waitrose Morningside for a terrific £340 cheque donated to Wester Hailes Youth Agency as part of their Community Matters Scheme. Our thanks go out to everyone involved in the scheme and to everyone who donated. We are also part of the Tesco Bags of...
Supporting A Tobacco Free Generation
Wester Hailes Youth Agency have recently signed up to ASH Scotland’s Charter for a Tobacco Free Generation. We are delighted to be on board and supporting this worthwhile cause which aims to protect children and young people from the harmful effects of smoking and second hand smoke. We are committed...