Young People Paint Themselves A Brighter Future

18/02/2010

Residents at Belong Wigan have been wielding their paintbrushes as part of a community care project with Wigan Children and Young People’s Services.

With the help of a local artist, they have been working alongside young people from the town to produce decorative hoardings to screen the building site in Millers Lane.

The site, where 54 self-contained apartments for older residents are being built, will be part of the village when complete but is currently hidden behind protective hoardings.

“The project will benefit residents and the public by turning industrial hoardings into colourful works of art”, said Belong Wigan General Manager Gill Menguy.

“It brings young people into direct contact with some of our residents and that experience will help them to integrate more successfully in society”.

The idea came about when the Wigan Early Intervention and Prevention Team came for lunch in the village bistro and asked about hiring a meeting room.

Working in conjunction with Hindley-based artist Helen Pye, the young people team up with residents in the activities room at the village to produce designs which are then fixed on to hoardings.

The designs include huge multi-coloured butterflies and trees based on the Belong logo.

Graham Doubleday, Operational Manager for Early Intervention and Prevention, said: “The project has proved very popular and we were made to feel very welcome by staff and residents alike. The young people have benefited significantly from their experience at Belong and the final display is a testament to their hard work and commitment to the project. We are already making plans for further projects at the site in the near future.”
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