About Us
This is the place to be to find out more about WCYP! Find out about:
Our Purpose, Our Home, Our Team, Our Finances, and Our Story.
Our Home
WELCOME TO WESTON
Our Community
Weston is a small suburb in the ward of Woolston in the south-east of Southampton, right on the edge of Southampton Water. You might recognise Weston shore from a 2024 episode of Silent Witness or recognise the big tower blocks from the 2015 film Containment or even Big Brother Celebrity Hijack, way back in 2008. Weston is surround by nature with Southampton's only beach, and beautiful woodland by Weston adventure playground. However, being close to the city centre means it is still in the radius of popular takeaway deliveries, and most importantly close to Southampton Football Club, the unofficial religion of Weston! Community is important in Weston, and you can’t walk far without bumping into someone you know, with Halloween being one of the biggest events in Weston’s social calendar.
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Sadly, there are quite a few difficulties faced by our community, from high levels of deprivation and poverty to high rates of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) amongst local children and young people. The statistics show that 1 in 3 children in Weston are living in low income households. People living in a low income area are also more likely to have their mental health impacted, with people living in deprived areas almost twice as likely to deal with depression than more affluent areas, and Weston is no exception – it’s one of the top three areas in Southampton for the prevalence of depression in people aged 15 and over. Children in Southampton are also more likely to be identified as having social, emotional or mental health needs than children in the rest of England. On top of all this, 35.7% of households with dependent children are single parent households and of those, 47% of the single parents aren’t in employment.
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This might provide a bit of a negative picture, but it is worth acknowledging the challenges so that we can identify what can be done to help. We exist to “equip the young people of Weston to enjoy life in all its fullness,” through a variety of groups, activities, trips and residentials, categorised into ‘FUN’, ‘SUPPORT’ and ‘FAITH’.
We are encouraged to be making a valuable difference in this community, engaging a total of 400 individual children and young people in 2023, providing over 200 sessions of children’s and youth work in 2023, and achieving positive feedback and outcomes such as 80% of children and young people participating in 'FUN' groups saying that their self-esteem and aspirations had improved, and 94% saying that they had tried something new.
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Our
Locations
We LOVE WESTON and know you will too! We host the majority of our regular groups and activities in the below venues, so here's a link of how to find them!
Also, we massively recommend booking one of them for your next birthday party, celebration, or event!
The Venny
Weston Adventure Playground, known by locals as ‘the Venny’, is a brilliant hideaway building nestled at the bottom of Canberra Towers and next to West Woods. Half play area and half youth centre, the Venny has existed for decades, with the building section built in 2005, and the playground section having been around since the 1970's, providing a space for many children, young people and families to build fond memories. WCYP have hosted groups and activities at the Venny for many years, in addition to having our office based there.
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Holy Trinity Weston
The local Anglican church, Holy Trinity, works closely with WCYP, partnering with us for our ‘Faith’ work, and supporting us with volunteers and finances.
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Back in 1992, Holy Trinity Church was responsible for setting up WCYP and, even though we exist as a separate charity now, we continue to work closely together.
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The Hope Centre
The Hope Centre is home to Hope City church, a new church plant on the estate which represents a partnership between Holy Trinity Weston, Kings Community Church, and WCYP. WCYP have recently started running some of our groups and activities at the Hope Centre.
