Climb the Money Tree project providing financial skills for young, independent people

Two young people, both of which have experienced living independently away from home, are using their knowledge and experiences to deliver a short course giving advice about moving out for the first time. The course will provide information to young people about budgeting, important things to think about when moving and clarify understanding of financial support available also. The training, running in partnership with EN:ABLE Communities, has had a pilot run and is now ready to reach out to many more young people quashing their fears about independent living and giving them confidence to make the move.

Research suggests many young people do not fully understand council tax, neither fully getting to grips with who it applies and what it functions to do. Similarly, the introduction of universal credit saw panic spread across the nation in 2013 and now in 2018 there are still scores of young people who have poor knowledge of something that may be so important to them.

Responding to these findings, this project aims to have educated 200 young people by the end of 2018 on all the important aspects of independent living. To encourage engagement, the short course is being made as interactive and adaptable to audience as possible. Course leads will be asking for feedback after each delivery to fine tune the project.

The project – Climb the Money Tree – is being delivered by Daniel Paton – Youth Leadership Worker and Nicole -Youth Leadership Mentor both of whom are part of the Grimsby IGNITE project. Based at VANEL’s offices on Bargate, IGNITE is a funded project which employs young people to help 16 to 30 year olds obtain the skills to set up their own community initiatives. Visit the IGNITE Facebook page for more information on how to get involved and book on to the course or email ignite@vanel.org.uk.

Or alternatively, contact the course leads directly – dan@vanel.org.uk, nicole@vanel.org.uk or 01472 315437.