Ignite and Connect, the Derby Homes Youth Panel, have become the first ever winners of the Team Award at the Derby Youth Awards 2019.
At the award ceremony on Friday 2nd August at the Derby Conference Centre, the whole group were joined by Councillor Roy Webb, Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Housing and Derby Homes’ Managing Director Maria Murphy.
The first Derby Youth Awards were hosted by Sporting Communities. They celebrate the inspirational stories of young people aged 11-25 who live in Derby. The Team Award is granted to a group of young people who have collectively contributed towards a great achievement within their community or the city.
The members of Ignite and Connect are aged between 13 and 19 and live in Derby Homes’ properties and neighbourhoods. They are committed to engaging and empowering young people in Derby. In the four years since they were founded, they’ve been meeting regularly to improve the estates and areas in which they live and make a difference in their community.
The panel has continued to champion the young people across Derby to ensure that their voice is heard. One of their major projects has been to support Derby Homes in tackling anti-social behaviour, by helping them to engage with young people and challenge negative stereotypes.
They have acted as a regular sounding board for Derby Homes when they have proposed making changes to their services, ensuring that they consider the impact on young people. They have also helped to increase the number of young people across the city who are consulted by engaging with them through methods such as Instagram.
Councillor Roy Webb, Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Housing said:
It’s really encouraging to see that there are so many passionate young people engaging with service providers in the city and ensuring the voice of Derby’s youth is heard. To have their volunteering recognised at these awards is a fantastic way to show the work they do is valued and makes a difference to the city. They are a great example to everyone. Well done!