The Winchester Project finds inspiration in Harlem

Published: 5th May, 2011
by JOSIE HINTON

WITH their club’s future threatened by government spending cuts, it may seem like a strange time to be planning a major transformation.

But youngsters at The Winchester Project in Swiss Cottage have decided to take matters into their own hands and turn a funding crisis into a new opportunity.

A group of 14 youth workers and staff from the Winchester Road club travelled to Harlem in New York last week in search of inspiration from social enterprise projects credited with transforming the lives of some of the city’s most deprived young people. 

During the five-day trip, the team visited six different schemes to see first hand how they are supporting vulnerable youngsters with everything from sex education and legal aid to opportunities to stage their own plays. The projects included the world-renowned Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ), which has been lauded by President Barack Obama for its holistic approach to helping young people through college and into the job market by tackling wider problems in their community. Last week HCZ’s chief executive Geoffrey Canada was named one of the world’s top 100 most influential people by Time magazine.

Funded by the American School in London (ASL) and a private donor, the Winch’s  “Harlem Learning Journey” was part of a wider plan to transform the way it works with Camden’s young people. 

“The point was to look at the principles of how successful enterprise projects are working and take ideas back home,” said Winch youth development officer Clare Bissell.

“We met so many amazing people. One of the most important lessons was that we are not alone in what we are trying to achieve. 

“I think we will also take away a focus on quality rather than quantity of services.

“This was a young people-led initiative. They picked the projects they wanted to see and were involved in decisions every step of the way.”

Youth worker Reece Okezie, who set up the Ace United football team with the help of the Winch, said the trip had given him the confidence to believe in his ideas.

He added: “Before I went to New York, I wasn’t sure that I would ever be able to turn Ace from just another football team into a proper community project, but the Harlem’s Children Zone has shown me that anything is possible, and with a bit of hard work and a lot of passion, Ace United will prosper and thrive.”

The Winch was launched in the 1970s when a group of disillusioned young people took over a disused pub in Swiss Cottage and turned it into a youth club.

Since then it has been a home from home for disadvantaged young people, but staff and members have an ambitious vision for its future.     Ideas include a real-life chocolate factory for learning about enterprise, a human rights centre and a roof-top penthouse as a place of escape for young people.