Pictured: Jayne Hanson, of Pertemps People Development
Group, joins Grantley Haynes, of the Wheeler Street Project, to
celebrate the donation to the Midnight Bus initiative
An initiative that engages with vulnerable young people in
Birmingham is on the road to success thanks to a donation by
generous workers at an employment company.
The Wheeler Street Project has been awarded £400 by
employees of employment and training experts Pertemps People
Development Group (PPDG) to help with the running costs of the
innovative 'midnight bus' scheme.
PPDG operates a Give As You Earn (GAYE) scheme which each year
donates thousands of pounds to charities and other good causes.
Employees make a donation to the scheme each month.
The Wheeler Street Project is run by former top music promoter
Grantley Haynes who takes the bus into Birmingham inner city areas
to engage with youngsters who are at risk of offending. Mr Haynes
managed some of the top reggae acts of the time including Pato
Banton and worked with UB40 and Aswad.
But he gave up his music career 10 years ago after witnessing
young people suffering from the menace of the drug culture in
Birmingham. His achievements working with vulnerable young people
over a decade have seen him win a number of awards and he has been
honoured by the Home Office.
The 'midnight bus' outreach workers target youngsters who are
indulging in drugs and alcohol abuse and hand out information on
sexual health. They then look to engage the youngsters in positive
activities such as FA qualified football coaching, health and
beauty skills and music projects. The project has proved to be a
great success and in some areas recorded crime has dropped by a
massive 32 per cent.
It was nominated for a GAYE award by Jayne Hanson, an employment
liaison co-ordinator at PPDG's Nechells office. She said: "I have
known Grantley for many years through his involvement in different
projects and last month he organised a charity ball to raise funds
for the use of the midnight bus.
"I attended the ball which raised over £1,000 and felt
I wanted to help them raise a little more to continue the
good work they do. Having used the midnight bus myself on a project
with PPDG (Working Neighbourhoods Fund) I know that it is a great
tool for outreach and engagement.
"Grantley has fantastic abilities and experience with young
people. Many young people he works with are existing and potential
PPDG clients and I feel that it is important to promote this kind
of joined up working within the communities." The project has eight
staff who work on the bus and in one three-hour session they
managed to engage with 71 youngsters.
Mr Haynes said: "Since the Wheeler Street Project began in 2007
we have seen significant drops in reports of anti-social behavior,
as much as 32 per cent in some areas. We have targeted many inner
city areas in Birmingham during that time and engaged with lots of
youngsters many who of whom were vulnerable to crime and alcohol
and drugs abuse. The midnight bus project has been a massive
success and the donation from PPDG will enable us to carry on
reaching out to vulnerable youngsters in Birmingham."
PPDG's total donations to charities and good causes through its
award-winning payroll-giving scheme recently broke the
£150,000 barrier. Around two thirds of employees are involved
in payroll deductions that benefit others less fortunate in the
community.
For more information about Pertemps People Development Group,
please visit their website here: www.ppdg.co.uk