Advice For Young People

The 11 to 25 Youth Information Service covers the whole of Blaenau Gwent County Borough. The service is confidential and impartial with up to date information on a wide range of issues provided by friendly, helpful and reliable staff.

The service provides a link to essential information, along with advice and guidance for all young people aged 11-25yrs in the Blaenau Gwent area. The service itself is a signposting facility for all youth based referral agents, organisations and projects in the area.

The Youth Information Officer works alongside the Blaenau Gwent Youth Service and many other youth based organisations to promote the 10 universal entitlements and provide knowledge so that young people can make their own informed decisions on the key issues that concern them.

Sexual Health Project

What Is The C-Card Scheme?

It is a project that will allow young people aged 14-25 access to quick, easy and confidential advice, guidance and contraception. Young people will have the opportunity of talking to a trained professional in an informal, non clinical environment i.e. youth clubs, community centre etc regarding sexual health issues, where they will also be able to obtain a supply of condoms. Young people are able to get a c-card by visiting one of the centres where a trained professional will ensure that they obtain the necessary skills and information they need in order to make informed decisions regarding their sexual health before being issued with a card. The scheme is not about encouraging young people into a sexual relationship it is however to encourage them to foster a healthy attitude towards sexual health and contraception.

Empathy Belly

This resource is a body kit that simulates pregnancy and enables young people whom wear the garment to temporarily ‘experience’ more than 20 of the typical symptoms and effects of pregnancy. Through this hands-on experiential type of learning, young people both male and female gain a better understanding of pregnancy and the impacts that it has on everyday tasks and activities that are important to their teenage lifestyles. The use of the Empathy Belly, not only increases young peoples knowledge and understanding but also motivates them to prevent untimely pregnancy.

Baby Think It Over

The Baby Think it Over programme is an infant simulator, which allows young people to experience caring for a young infant as if they were parents. The program allows young people to take an infant simulator home to care for, where they must actually feed, burp, rock and change the babies nappy just as you would a real infant. The programme helps young people to understand the demands a young baby places on its parents and the impact it would have on their lifestyles.

Other Activities the Project Provides include:
        

• Basis Sexual Health Training
• Boys & Young Men Specific Training
• A wide range of Book, Games & Video’s
• Resource Materials for Workshops
• A Point of Contact for Advice and Information