Resilience Revolution – Activist in Residence project
The Boingboing approach to resilience is about “beating the odds, whilst also changing the odds”. This means that as well as creating opportunities for people and communities to bounce forward through tough times, we take action together to change things that are unfair and make things tougher for people in the first place.
In Blackpool, people and communities across the whole town are joining together to apply this approach to resilience in their own lives, homes, schools, workplaces and support services. This collective action is known as the Resilience Revolution! Part of what we have been doing is exploring the potential of activism to prevent, address and reduce mental health problems through positive action (beating the odds), whilst at the same time, tackle injustice and issues that can impact so negatively on our mental health (change the odds).
As part of our contribution to co-leading the Resilience Revolution, we are launching an exciting new project which is all about creating more ways for people to take part in activity to change the odds – by becoming a Youth Activist in Residence!
But what is activism? Check out our short animation (also visible below), co-produced by Henry (Boingboing), Jess, Gracjan & Dylan (Grand Young Company) to find out more and for some ways you can get involved.
True to one of the Resilience Revolution fundamentals (co-production), we have worked with some brilliant people to co-create what we think a residency should look like – and we are now ready to share this with the world and launch our call for:
- HOST ORGANISATIONS who are willing to support a residency
Check out the brief for details of what’s involved and get in touch if you want to find out more. We are hoping to create a ‘bank’ of host organisations who are willing to support the project and will then match a Youth Activist with them - YOUTH ACTIVISTS
Check out the brief for an overview of what it’s all about – we hope we have given you enough information to consider your ideas, but you can get in touch with us to talk it through if you wish. We will need to make sure that what we have to offer is a good fit for the ideas and change you want to make happen. So, we are asking anyone interested to submit a ‘Hope for Change’ which will help us choose who to partner with in this round.
- ALLIES & SUPPORTERS – you might love the sound of the project but not be in a position to host or be outside the age range to take up a residency but we’d still love to hear from you! We believe in the power of the collective and know that this project has the best chance of achieving change when it is surrounded by allies and supporters. There are loads of ways to contribute from shouting about it to others, to connecting people up, to mentoring a Youth Activist or taking part in a skills swap. Whatever it is you think you can offer, get in touch.
Contact Henry on [email protected] / 07999467704 – we can’t wait to hear from you!
Activist in Residence – let’s make it happen
An activist is someone who sees something wrong in society, and wants to help change things for the better.
Activists do all sorts of different things. They organise community groups, they lead marches, make films and talk to politicians.
The point is that anyone can be an activist. Maybe you’re worried about knife crime.
Maybe you’re concerned about homelessness,
Or perhaps you think we’re just not doing enough to protect the environment. Whatever it may be, if you want to do something about it, then become an activist, and help us to make a change.
Submissions of evidence: Focus on accessibility
This page presents a selection of our submissions of evidence with a focus on those which have considered accessibility.
The Academic Resilience Approach
Our resources help any school establish systems to build ‘resilience approaches’ that support disadvantaged pupils over time through a whole school approach. Benefitting all pupils and increasing academic resilience, the ARA helps everyone in the school community play a part.
Health Inequalities: Addressing the State of the Nation – Submission of evidence
In this submission to The House of Lords a group of academics, students, practitioners, parents/carers and young people working as and with disadvantaged communities share their thoughts on whether progress has been made by Government in its ambition to improve children and young people’s mental health provision.
Academic Resilience resources directory
Here you can download the Academic Resilience Approach resources to help any school establish systems to build ‘resilience approaches’ that support disadvantaged pupils over time through a whole school approach. All the Academic Resilience Approach resources are free to download.
Resilience Framework for Children and Young People
This is the classic Resilience Framework for children and young people. The Framework summarises a set of ideas and practices that promote resilience. To create it we distilled what the resilience research base said into a handy table that sets out 42 resilient moves that can be made to support children and young people’s resilience. Available in multiple languages.
Resilience Framework Co-produced with Children in Blackpool
The Resilience Framework for Primary School children was co-produced by the Resilience Committee at Marton Primary School, Blackpool. The Marton Primary School children learned some valuable resilience and technological skills during the process, which involved rewording some of the items in a more meaningful way for the children, and we think it looks fab! Also available in Danish, German and Polish.
Blackpool Co-produced Family Resilience Framework
A group of parents and carers from Blackpool, known as the ‘Parents of the Revolution’, have co-produced a family version of the Resilience Framework as part of Blackpool’s town-wide Resilience Revolution. You can also download a one-page version that just contains the Framework or a 2-page version with a short description and some suggestions.
Family Framework Co-produced with Newport Mind
The Family Resilience Framework was designed to support members of the wider family (parents, siblings, carers etc.) and was developed by Rhian Adams, Tiffany Bales, Laura Brown and Sarah Henderson from Newport Mind, with the support of the participants of the Newport Mind Community of Practice. Also available in Italian, Portugese and Spanish.
Resilience Framework for Adults
The Resilience Framework for Adults applies ideas from the resilience evidence base to adult mental health. The adult Framework was developed as part of Josh Cameron’s PhD research into the work-related needs and experiences of people recovering from mental health problems. Also available in French and German.
