Youth Band is a universal project run by KYTHE that allows young people from different age groups, and different musical preferences to join a band, in an environment that is nurturing and safe to express thoughts and opinions openly without judgement.
Throughout the last 3 years of running the project, we have seen many cases of young people reporting that their confidence has increased considerably, due to the time and investment in this project. We have seen young people who have never sung before, stand up in the community and lead a band singing, in front of 100-200 people. We have seen young people who have self-taught themselves to play instruments and developed skills and self-knowledge of their instrument, taking constructive criticism in a way that is positive and nurturing.
The biggest ‘win’ of youth band, has been the relationships being built between youth workers and young people. This has led to numerous informal chats and formal 1-2-1 sessions relating to young people’s mental health freely offered by the young person. Issues such as low mode, depression and even in 2 cases thoughts of suicide, have been discussed and supported alongside the young person as a direct result of built relationships and mutual respect instilled through Youth Band.