ROOTS & SHOOTS RELAUNCHED
Supported by a grant from the OPCC through the Police & Crime Commissioner’s Community Action Fund, Wiltshire FA’s HQ, Green Lane Playing Fields, is home the Roots & Shoots Youth Engagement Programme for the third time.
Roots and Shoots is a 15-week initiative to promote social inclusion, offer personal development and prevent youth crime.
Supported by, Devizes Police, Champions in Community, Wiltshire Youth for Christ, Strakers Estate Agents, Devizes Town Council, Wiltshire Council and RW Football School, the programme is continuing to develop, offering young people in Devizes the opportunity to engage with the community, develop football skills and gain qualifications.
Initially launched in 2022, the project offered 12 young people the opportunity to engage in positive football activities and classroom-based sessions on Friday evenings during the school holidays.
After a successful pilot, the scheme relaunched earlier this year, offering football skills sessions alongside informal mentoring.
Continuing with its success, Roots and Shoots is now back for a third time, inviting 20 young people to a new 15-week programme of team-based sport and structured input from youth workers, with the focus to support young people gain qualifications.
Oliver Selfe, CEO at Wiltshire FA said, “We are extremely proud of the Roots and Shoots Programme. Each week we see the impact it has on our young people, as they are surrounded by positive mentors and coaches and have conversations about what is happening in their lives, getting advice and support. Young people have a lot of influences day to day, so we hope by offering them a place to go, and guidance we can help them make the right decisions.”
As a valuable youth project in Devizes, Roots and Shoots aims to build a strong community by engaging young people and diverting them away from antisocial behaviour while improving their health and wellbeing, raising their aspirations and releasing their potential.
Listen to BBC Radio Sounds during their visit to Roots and Shoots