Five Lamps’ MyBnk team have delivered a high-paced fun action-packed financial educational workshop to 9 young people from Stockton, Billingham and Middlesbrough.
The young people were referred to Five Lamps from Community Campus ‘87.
Money Works is a three part financial education programme empowering young adults moving into independent living to confront their money worries and gain financial control of their lives. The programme was delivered at Community Campus ’87 and was structured around a crime prevention programme.
MyBnk Money Works Programme is typically delivered to those who are not in education, employment or training (NEETs). These learners are often in a transitional period – living in hostels, leaving care, or about to move into independent living. Their circumstances mean they are often in need of survival money management skills and actions they can implement immediately. Some of these young people also have low self-confidence around money management, so the Money Works programme contains a strong element of challenging negative attitudes, building self-belief and aspirations to move forward financially
Samantha, 21 from Stockton said
“It was very helpful and made me prioritise my needs and wants. I used my budgeting skills and sorted my utilities before I spent all of my money on things I didn’t need. I am breaking my bad spending habits and it feels great getting back in control of my finances. I am less worried and don’t feel too guilty for spending as I have prioritised”
Another participant, Emma, 26 from Middlesbrough said
“I saved some of my money and actually managed to spend over £50 on food, this is very unusual for me as I have limited income – I have actually framed the receipt. I was having great difficulty trying to open a bank account and financial products available to me were restricted; the MyBnk Money Works programme gave me the knowledge and confidence to open up a basic building society account which was best for my needs anyway”
Community Campus ’87 is a community based social enterprise formed in 1987 by a group of young people to address the emerging crisis of youth homelessness in Teesside. Mel Boyce, Youth Participation Manager at Community Campus ’87 said “The programme was very effective for clients and staff. It gave lots of information for now and the future. The sessions were made fun and room to let clients speak; we would love to run more of these sessions in the future if funding was right.