Miss Represented awarded COVID-19 funding from Youth Endowment Fund

Brighton Dome’s award winning creative learning project, Miss Represented has received a grant of £44,200 from the Youth Endowment Fund to support young women in Brighton & Hove.

The funding will help facilitate the project’s work across five schools to offer small groups of vulnerable girls and young women the opportunity for personal mentoring sessions using creative outlets. Following a similar model successfully launched at Hove Park School earlier this year, more pupils will now benefit from working with Miss Represented staff, including former participants who have used their experiences to help peers in their community.

Initiated by Brighton Dome in 2011, Miss Represented has worked with hundreds of young women aged 12 and above across Brighton & Hove who face challenging life situations. The project was awarded The Argus Community Star 2019 contribution to Arts and Culture and is a collaboration between artists, performers and youth workers to help young women with their personal development, to create positive social change and spark dialogue across communities.

Jo Bates, Miss Represented Project Manager said:

“Young people are facing unprecedented personal challenges following the Covid-19 pandemic. We work with girls and young women who already face difficult life circumstances and this crisis is bound to have caused further anxiety and complications. This funding is even more timely as we’ll be able to offer support when pupils return to school in September as they adjust back to being in the classroom and interacting with their friends, teachers and peers.”

The Youth Endowment Fund is an independent charitable trust set up by the Home Office. It funds, supports and evaluates projects in England and Wales which work to prevent children and young people from being drawn into violent crime. Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival is one of 130 organisations to share part of a £6.5m grant pot from the Fund to help at-risk young people impacted by COVID-19.

Miss Represented alumni, Evie and Caitlin used their experiences and skills to help facilitate sessions at Hove Park School, they commented:

“Having been part of the early days of Miss Represented and now being asked to help with the mentoring process has given us an insight into how valuable these community projects are. They really do make a difference to young people’s lives, giving them hope and a positive attitude for their future. With the help of the Youth Endowment Fund grant we’re looking forward to helping more girls in school to encourage them in their formative years.”

Jon Yates, Executive Director at Youth Endowment Fund, said:

“It has been too easy to forget vulnerable young people during this crisis. The pandemic has removed much of the critical support that many of them rely upon – from teachers to youth workers. This funding will help us find the best way to reach and support these young people when they most need it.”