Rosscon Training: Turning young lives around

I recently visited Rosscon Training, a fantastic community organisation in Claremont, helping to change the lives of young people in our town. I saw first-hand the difference Rosscon is making by providing support, skills and opportunities to young people who might otherwise be at risk of falling through the cracks.

During my visit, I had the chance to sit down with Charlotte who, at just 15, spoke about the challenges she faced before joining Rosscon, finding school difficult and mixing with the wrong crowd. With the right support she has turned her life around and is looking forward to a bright future.

Chris: Could you start by introducing yourself and tell us how old you are and how long you’ve been involved here?
Charlotte: Hi, I’m Charlotte and I’m 15. I’ve been here since Year Seven, so about four years now.

Chris: Can you tell me a little bit about why you got involved here at Roscon?
Charlotte: I wasn’t doing the best in school. My anxiety was quite high and I didn’t like being in classrooms. I was mixing with the wrong crowd and being part of knife crime. The council phoned up here asking whether they could take me on, and it was very urgent. Danny took me on the day he got the call. Ever since then my life changed.

Chris: Can you tell me a bit more about how you got involved with knife crime?
Charlotte: I started carrying because I was hanging around with the wrong crowd. I knew this older lad and I had a lot of trouble with him. He said he was going to show up outside my school, so I was a bit scared. So I ended up carrying and getting in a lot of trouble for it.

Chris: Do you think that’s why most people carry knives?
Charlotte: It’s a mix. Some kids do it because they think they’re hard and that they can get away with it. You can’t just get away with carrying a knife. Others do it because there’s a lot of trauma around this area, and it makes them feel safe, like they’ve got to protect themselves. A lot of kids are in care homes, foster care or living with a very abusive family, so they feel like it’s protecting them.

Chris: How has being here changed things for you?
Charlotte: I didn’t know what I was going to do in my life. I thought I was just going to end up going down the wrong path – end up in prison, homeless, or something like that. And now I’m not leaving school to go nowhere, I’m going to college to try to get a job as a paramedic, which I can’t wait for.

Chris: What sort of things have you done here?
Charlotte: Firstly I did a lot of construction and bricklaying. But because I’ve been here four or five years, I got a bit bored of it. Then they introduced nails, football, childcare and textiles. I went into childcare but didn’t really like it. Then hair and beauty, which was really good. I enjoyed that a lot. Later they introduced textiles, that was really fun.

Chris: What made you want to be a paramedic?
Charlotte: I feel like I need to give something back to the community. I can’t just sit there and do nothing and watch a community die down. I don’t care about the money, I just want to help people and get them out of whatever circumstances they are in – whether it’s an old person, young person, or just anybody.

Chris: What do you see as the main challenges for young people in Blackpool?
Charlotte: The main challenge is kids not wanting to go to school. They’ve got too many troubles at home. In Blackpool one of the biggest things is people feeling down. Some kids don’t want to go to school because they’re scared, and if they do go, they’re scared of coming back home. With women there are a lot of single mums on benefits, which is very traumatising for the women and kids because they don’t have a lot of food or stuff like that. There’s a lot of trauma for kids around Blackpool.

Chris: What would you want your MP to do for Blackpool and for young people?
Charlotte: I know we can’t really help the mental health side of it, but it would be nice if we could get more places like this. More places in Blackpool that are not free but cheap, where kids can go in the six weeks holidays. There’s a lot for tourists, like the Sealife Centre and stuff, but if you live here it’s expensive. Then you get kids dropping out of school, and in the six weeks holidays there’s nothing for parents to do to keep them busy. That leads to crime. I’d like him to open up something cheap that gives kids something to do.

To learn more about Rosscon's courses and curriculum, visit: rosscontraining.com.