Inspiring Youth Activism: UK Scouts Tackle Homelessness

scouts

Is there a badge for that?

Today’s Scouts are doing much more than toasting marshmallows and learning how to tie different types of knots.

These days, they’re getting involved with important issues like global warming, mental health, disability, the refugee crisis and, yes, homelessness. These are the issues affecting them personally.

A Vote Determines This New Direction

The issues that the scouts address through their programs aren’t prescribed to them. They’re actually chosen by popular vote of all 640,000 members.

Many members may have been inspired by Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist. Seeing the impact she’s made and her passion for solving huge problems, many young people want to tackle important issues.

Astronaut Tim Peake also believes in the incredible ability of young people, and has agreed to lead this campaign. “They’re leading the way,” he said in his campaign-launching speech. “They’re the doers, the give-it-a-goers, the change-makers – they’re not afraid to take a deep breath and speak up.”

An Issue Close to Home

As the homelessness crisis grows in the UK, more young people are finding their lives personally affected. If they haven’t experienced homelessness themselves, then it’s likely someone in their family or at school. And they certainly see people who are sleeping rough on the streets.

It’s natural for young people to be concerned about homelessness and, more importantly, want to do something about it. This year, the Scouts are banding together to make a much bigger impact than they could accomplish individually.

A Partnership with Crisis

Many Scout groups are trying to build bridges with local homeless community members by hosting connection-building dinners and other events.

Older members conduct hands-on activities while younger members learn about the unique issues of homelessness. One activity with an inflated balloon helps them understand how limited resources make it difficult and stressful for a homeless person to accomplish seemingly simple, everyday tasks like showering or buying food to eat.

This activity is led by volunteers from the homeless charity Crisis, which has partnered with the Scouts to help develop a programme of activities for this campaign. This is what they have in store for Scouts of all ages over the course of the campaign’s planned three-year run:

  • Learning about homelessness, it’s causes and solutions
  • Engaging communities in conversations for change to pass on what Scouts have learned
  • Researching homelessness and the support available in their own community
  • Asking MPs and councils to take action on Scouts’ and Crisis research, holding their own campaigns and organising action days in their communities to raise awareness, build support and help to end homelessness sooner

Badge-Earning Activities

There actually is a badge for this. Of course, there would be.

Participating in certain activities within the campaign, pertaining to any of the chosen issues, can get you steps closer to earning the Community Impact Staged Activity badge. Right now, there are two phases of activities provided, with more coming in 2020.

Phase 1 focuses mainly on educating Scouts about the causes of homelessness, and what it’s like to live without a home.

It also breaks down some common stereotypes about homeless people that are untrue and harmful. Through education, Phase 1 gradually breaks down barriers, builds bridges, and spreads understanding and compassion.

Phase 2 builds on that newfound knowledge and calls upon members to plan how they’re going to respond to it.

The education on the struggles of being homeless continues as groups begin to plan the actions they want to take to address the issue of homelessness. Activities during this phase focus on the frustration of unfair rules, the fundamentals of happiness (and what happens if they’re taken away), the challenges of completing basic tasks without the proper equipment, and more.

Phase 3 is the action-taking phase, slated for early 2020.

This is the phase when Scout groups will execute the actions that they planned in Phase 2, whatever those may be. After that, Phase 4 has Scouts learning more and making more change, likely with the benefit of all that they learned from trying out their first plan of action. The final phase is to tell the world! Phase 5 is the time when Scouts will share with the world what they’ve learned so far during their campaign, what they accomplished, what they tried, what worked and what didn’t, and what they plan to do going forward!

The Next Generation Could End Homelessness

It’s encouraging to see young people so engaged with their communities and concerned about big issues such as homelessness. If they keep that spark alive within them as they age, and take all that they’re learning now forward with them, they could very well be the generation to eradicate homelessness in the UK once and for all.

And why stop there?

If there’s one thing that these big issue campaigns are doing, it’s teaching young people that they really can make a difference, what they do matters, and they should go ahead and try. Even if the task seems impossible, dare to believe in yourself. You might be surprised by how much you can accomplish.

That belief is powerful. It encourages people to dream big no matter how old they are, reach for the stars, and just try things! Don’t write yourself off. You never know how far you’ll be able to get until you give it your best shot.


Kayla Robbins

Kayla Robbins

  

Kayla Robbins is a freelance writer who works with big-hearted brands and businesses. When she's not working, she enjoys knitting socks, rolling d20s, and binging episodes of The Great British Bake Off.

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