Hounslow Action for Youth share their thoughts on equality, diversity and inclusion in the borough

As part of our recent series on equality, diversity and inclusion, Bijal Karavadra , Deputy Director of Hounslow Action for Youth Association, has been talking to young people in the borough.?

I’ve worked with young people in the Hounslow for over sixteen years.?I’m currently Deputy Director of the?Hounslow Action for Youth Association (HAY) , a voluntary sector charity which works with young people and their families across the borough.?

Over the summer, we have been speaking to our young people about equality in the area. We wanted to understand what the positives were and what barriers continue to be faced.?

It was fascinating to learn what a collective focus group across all our projects felt.?Overall, there was one overwhelming positive - the diversity of the borough.??But it was also felt that some areas could be dominated by a certain religion or cultures while others – like Chiswick for example – were less diverse with fewer people our group could identify with.?I think this probably reinforces how important the concept of place is for all age groups and the disparities that persist based on ethnic and socio-economic background.

In terms of education, they were not always aware of work or study opportunities available within Hounslow, and they felt they needed to seek out this information and agreed there could be more innovative ways of getting messages through to young people.?There was also a feeling that there are more opportunities for academically gifted children, and that once you reach adult status, courses could be cost prohibitive for young people still seeking progression.

The young women’s group specifically, who were predominantly from the BAME community, felt that when racial slurs were used at school, it was not dealt with appropriately, and that there’s still not enough education for young people around the impact of racist behaviour across all backgrounds.??

There were also further issues with equality in the classroom with some students recognising a disparity in support based on ethnic background.?Examples included length of time for dyslexia diagnosis, non BAME students being less likely to be punished for wearing non uniform items and in one case, involving a young person who grew up in a foster home, there were unfair perceptions of her as being aggressive.??

This bias was also felt by a British Pakistani student who had received inappropriate remarks around terrorism from a teacher over a piece of art produced in lessons.??

But overall, young people we have worked with felt happy living in Hounslow. They recognised a genuine sense of community and were comfortable visiting most parts of the borough. They felt that working with HAY widened their horizons and gave them more opportunities and that the organisation was like a family itself. They experienced mutual respect when they attended sessions and their feelings were heard with HAY providing a safe space.?

Help us shape Hounslow Council’s new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy to:

• Encourage local investment
• Accelerate economic regeneration
• Provide better quality jobs

Take part in the survey .

About?HAY

Their aim is to provide opportunities to young people, to support them in difficult times and help them overcome challenges they face. We run three projects to support the community. The first is the?Youth Bonds Project , aimed at 7-12 year olds at risk of crime and anti-social behaviour that may be vulnerable and socially excluded.?

The?Young Women’s Creative Writing Project ?works with young women across Hounslow to express themselves using poetry and stories.?Workshops are facilitated by award winning authors and spoken word artists. The young women’s work is published in a yearly anthology.?

Their final project is an?ASDAN ?accredited?Social Enterprise ?project, engaging young people who are not in education, employment or training to think about building their own business and becoming entrepreneurs.

?#youngpeople #hounslow #socialenterprise #equality #diversity #inlusion #youth #HounslowEquals