Behaviour

The Blackpool Boys and Girls Club

Children in stressed environments need resilience and emotional intelligence to deal with issues luckier children don’t have. Jed Sullivan explains how the lauded BBGC uses film, paintings and stories to build their inner strength.
teenage boys against wall

Another week sees another report released damning the fortunes of everyone’s favourite seaside town.  Blackpool – iconic in many minds for its Tower, promenade, Pleasure Beach and miles of beaches – continues to flounder at the bottom of so many league tables on social issues.

Recently, a study by Plan International UK found the seaside resort to be the second worst place in the country to be a girl; based on factors including child poverty, educational attainment and teenage pregnancy rates.

As the national media uses it as yet more cannon fodder to talk down to the town, it further fuels its residents’ – as fiercely proud as any Northerners – determination to do better by the town and its future generations.  Nowhere is this more the case than at Blackpool Boys and Girls Club (BBGC)

If Blackpool is a tough place to grow up then it follows that its residents need to be resilient.  Developing resilience, that ability to cope with adversity, be adaptable and overcome unexpected life events, is at the heart of a unique project being undertaken at some of the town’s youth clubs.

The BBGC youth clubs are leading the way in nurturing good mental health for children and young people.  At its two bases, in the Layton and Mereside areas, a specially created ‘Angel Voices’ project has seen children draw inspiration from silver screen star Marilyn Monroe, Disney hit Frozen and paintings by Edward Hopper, to explore emotions and feelings.

As the club’s 400 members, aged eight to 24, colour-in, write short stories or discuss artwork or familiar films, they have been gently encouraged to talk about coping with grief, managing anger, healing broken friendships, supporting siblings and recognising different types of bullying.

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