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.
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...
Busy school days
It’s been a busy couple of weeks at Forrester High School for the Youth Agency. As well as our usual work, we have been working with all of the first and second year pupils and have had a lot of fun delivering Sexual Health and Relationship Education (SHARE) and drug...
Celebrating Purple Friday!
The Youth Agency were delighted to take part in Purple Friday celebrations today and to show our continued support for the LGBTI community. Our celebrations were enjoyed by young people in the drop-in who made and sold cakes and took part in our purple photo booth. Our purple photo booth...
The Youth Agency AGM
The Youth Agency’s Annual General Meeting will take place at 6pm on Tuesday 27 February 2018 at Wester Hailes Youth Agency...
Christmas Cheer!
Regular followers of the Youth Agency may know that we are not strangers to spreading our Christmas wishes with a bit of a performance – remember the 12 Days of Christmas with a Youth Agency twist! This year, however, we wanted to give something back to the community that use...
Cracking Christmas Party Fun
The week before Christmas can only mean one thing at the Youth Agency – Christmas Party week! Our festive fun and celebrations are now in full swing and being enjoyed by young people and staff alike. Our junior group enjoyed a host of traditional games, each with a festive theme...
Christmas Wrapping
Thank you to Joanna Cherry and her wonderful team – George, Andrew and Ally – for supporting the Youth Agency again this year. Joanna’s team popped in to help us wrap selection boxes ready for our Christmas parties and brought with them lots of festive cheer. Thank you again and...
Cooking Programme
The Youth Agency launched a new cooking programme this week thanks to a grant from Community Food and Health (Scotland). All of our age groups will be involved in learning about, preparing and cooking food. We aim to work with the young people to come up with a varied, fun...
Fun and inspiration at the Pyramid
We have been having lots of fun at the Pyramid this week. The junior group have discovered a love of jewellery making and have been enjoying making beautiful, personalised bracelets and necklaces. Some great ideas for Christmas perhaps…...
A Trip Down Memory Lane… All About Val
As darker nights are drawing in it is time for Val to take a trip down memory lane and let us in on a secret or two. ...
Mentors in Violence Prevention
Wester Hailes Youth Agency are working with Forrester High School to launch and run their Mentors in Violence Prevention programme in school - MVP for short! ...
A Trip Down Memory Lane… All About Stevan
So the holidays are over and schools are back and this month we hear from Stevan. What was your favourite song/band/type of music growing up?...
