Roots puts children and young people at the centre of everything we do – including making decisions about how the centre is used, what activities we do, the building itself, and how we promote The Roots Foundation Wales.
We have a youth panel group, which is made up of four members aged 12 to 18 and aims to bring our young people together to gather their thoughts and ideas in a safe environment, ultimately helping Roots to make positive changes in areas that affect young people.
The youth panel meets monthly to discuss activities and things it would like to improve at the Roots centre. The panel also has the opportunity to attend our board of trustees meetings to share important information it has gathered and any ideas the panel would like to put forward.
Key decisions that young people who attend Roots have been involved with include:
• the DIY SOS build of the new Roots centre
• staff recruitment
• redesign of the Roots logo and website
• school holiday activities.
Aaron
Roots attendee and youth panel member
“Roots has really helped me grow as a person and my confidence has grown immensely over the past two and a half years that I’ve attended Roots. The staff are absolutely fab and are really supportive if I am ever in a struggle with anything, be it college or personal life.
The young person involvement at Roots is really strong and our thoughts and feelings are never ignored. We are always included in any discussions surrounding what happens in Roots and our opinions are respected and ideas are considered.
The youth panel are consistent and try their best to convey wishes and feelings from the young people to the staff and trustees to ensure that Roots provides the perfect environment and support needed by the group of young people at all times.”
Our Roots
What happens at Roots
How we involve young people
