Youth clubs on wheels

Project: Youth clubs on wheels

Funding pounds: 452,000 through the government's Youth Capital Fund Plus

Aim: To give young people safe and fun places to socialise with friends and get advice

Young people in Newcastle are being given the opportunity to get advice and try out entertaining activities as part of a new youth club service.

Two buses have been kitted out as mobile youth units with the aim of giving young people an alternative to hanging around. Each bus features DJ equipment, video equipment, laptops, cameras, a video console and equipment for a wide range of sporting activities.

The larger bus also contains a quiet area where young people can do their homework and a small kitchen offering healthy food and snacks.

Both buses will have dedicated youth workers permanently on board, acting as a source of information, advice and guidance for young people.

The buses will be based in the parts of Newcastle that have been seen as a priority for this type of intensive youth work, although the plan is to roll the scheme out city-wide in the future.

Police will help youth workers develop an intelligence-led approach to focus on the areas of the city in most need of the service. Ruth Rogan, head of children and young people in the community at Newcastle City Council, says: "The buses give young people in areas of the city where there are fewer youth facilities a safe and attractive alternative to just hanging around."

The units have been funded by government's Youth Capital Fund Plus, which aims to develop youth facilities in neighbourhoods with high levels of deprivation or which lack youth provision.

Young people who will be using the buses have been involved in every step of the project, from having a say on what the grant should be spent on to designing the buses themselves.