We deliver regular play & youth work activity sessions for children and young people from Gypsy and Traveller communities in and around Harborough District. We deliver after school sessions to children from 5 years to around 16 years who live on permanent, private sites in the District using our mobile project vehicle, The Chill Out Bus as an on-site venue.

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In addition, thanks to funding from the Emigrant Support Programme, we facilitate a Women and Girls Group to encourage peer support, advocacy support, information sharing and intergenerational sharing of experiences and leisure activities.  The group also encourages members to celebrate their identities as Irish Travellers through their Travellers' Tea events.

 

All the sessions provide stimulating activities and experiences, covering themes of interest to the children and young people, and help them to develop their emotional regulation, skills for life and vocations, personal interests, and relationships with their peers, their families, the HCYC staff, and the wider community.

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Children and young people from local Gypsy and Traveller communities experience significant exclusion, lack of opportunities, and daily prejudice. This, combined with rural isolation means these children and young people are most in need of the help provided by HCYC.