HideOut hosts touring production and workshop to provide young people with practical strategies to cope with, and handle institution racism.
On Monday 6th February, HideOut Youth Zone welcomed the performance of a brand-new HipHop theatre show, LOOPS, to the Youth Zone.
LOOPS is a new production from Liverpool’s 20 Stories High, co-produced by Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse theatre, which is currently touring schools and local youth groups.
Bursting with heavy beats, beautiful lyricism and raw energy, the show explores police racism, white allyship and is full of Black joy and empowerment, whilst also providing practical strategies on how to deal with ongoing police encounters such as Stop & Search, institutional racism, and understanding the overall impact on individuals and communities.
Over 66% of HideOut’s overall membership identify as Black, Asian or from another ethnic minority background.
One young person who watched the performance said:
“I needed this play. It [Stop & Search] happened to my friend just last week. We see that this [Stop & Search] happens every day. We need to understand that this shouldn’t be happening, and that we are equal”.
To follow the performance, LOOPS Participation Lead, Chantelle Lunt, attended the Youth Zone on Monday 13th February to lead a deep-dive session into learnings from the production the week prior.
Chantelle supported members to explore global, national and local black history, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the importance of empowering activism, whilst also providing young people with practical solutions to handle situations they may come across in everyday life.
Aisha, a Senior Club member who attended the workshop, said:
“Everyone was engaging in the workshop, and I enjoyed it because it showed me more about my culture. Young people got to learn more about their background and how black people are actually being treated which is really important”.
Chantelle said:
“Loops is a play that speaks to the lived experiences of many black and global majority young people. We had powerful feedback from the young people at Hideout Youth Zone who saw the play. The accompanying workshop gave young people information about their rights relating to police searches and the history of Black Civil rights movements locally.”
Chantelle is a former police officer, who, since leaving Merseyside Police, has dedicated her life to campaigning for equal rights. She was the founder of Merseyside Black Lives Matter Alliance.
HideOut prides itself on ensuring its youth provision is inclusive, supports community cohesion, and provides an environment where members from diverse demographics, ethnic communities, and those with additional needs or disabilities feel safe, involved, and welcome.
Each month, we will be providing you with the opportunity to get to know our Patrons a little better.
Patrons are a group of individuals and companies united by a determination to give young people in Manchester somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to. Patrons form part of an exclusive group who share the vision to transform the lives of thousands of young people in Manchester.
This month, we want to introduce you to TOGETHER.
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What is Together?
Together are property finance specialists. They provide finance to a wide variety of customers including homebuyers, investors, property professionals, landlords and small businesses.
Together works with a vast network of intermediaries such as brokers, accountants, solicitors, banks and financial advisors to support their clients with the finance they need.
Together has over 600 employees and is based in Cheadle, Stockport.
The business prides itself on the expertise of its staff and a common sense approach to lending.
Having traded successfully for more than 47 years, they have firmly established themselves as a leading specialist lender, and are continuing to expand as they meet the growing demand for alternative finance.
How do they support HideOut Youth Zone?
Together do a lot of stewardship with HideOut. Most recently, they did a podcast with two of HideOut’s Senior Club members: ‘What Manchester Taught Me (You can listen to the podcast here). Commercial CEO, Marc Goldberg, came to the Youth Zone to inspire young people by telling his story of how he started as an apprentice and became CEO.
Together are planning to volunteer at HideOut’s Holiday Club in Easter, and again in Summer. They will also be working with HideOut’s Employability and Enterprise Coordinator to lead a number of money awareness workshops.
The Together team will also be running the Great Manchester Run in May to raise vital funds for our young people.
Marc Goldberg, Commercial CEO of Together
“We have worked with HideOut since they opened two years ago, and are proud to be a founder patron providing a yearly donation to its ongoing running. We have worked alongside them through an extensive volunteer programme, and encourage our colleagues to get involved in holiday clubs and delivering employability workshops.
“Now more than ever, it is essential to support them through the rising cost of living, which is why we have donated the funds for 750 hot lunches to be provided at their holiday clubs.
Find out more: www.togethermoney.com
