Who are we?
Base 33 is the working name of the Witney Ecumenical Youth Trust. We are a community-led youth
charity (Charity No 1075908) based in Witney, West Oxfordshire. We offer targeted youth support to young people that
- are not engaging in full time education, employment and training (NEET)
- have drug/alcohol/substance misuse issues
- are experiencing chaotic lives due to a broad spectrum of social problems (youth homelessness, teenage pregnancy, offending, family breakdown).
Base 33 is a vibrant charity and is well known in the community for its
work over the last 12 years with young people that are viewed as challenging,
disaffected and difficult to engage.
Through projects, one-on-one and group work we aim to support and
empower young people to make informed choices, we challenge young people to
think about negative/risky behaviour, the effects of drug and alcohol abuse and
we help them at times of crisis to access housing, pregnancy support and other
specialist support. We are open four days and four evenings a week and through
a variety of projects we work with around 150 young people each week.
Base 33 is governed by a Board of Trustees and employs a
Director/Manager, 4 Youth Workers, an Administrator and 12 volunteers. Base 33
has been awarded the Queens Award for Voluntary Service and in 2010 we were
awarded the title of ‘Best Community Group’ at the National Kids Count
Awards. This was in recognition of our “consistent and truly inspirational
dedication to the future development and well-being of young people.”
Each year we need to raise £100,000 to fund our programs.
We are:
Proactive - We go out on
the streets at night and engage with young people that are
experiencing problems and recruit them to our programs.
Innovative -
Unlike standard youth centres, we tailor-make a bespoke individual mentoring
program for each young person.
Transformative - We have a
strong track record in supporting vulnerable young people to gain the skills,
confidence and enthusiasm to feel able to access opportunities and feel part of
their community.
Holistic – A vulnerable
young person can suffer from a variety of issues. Through our different
programs we take an integrated approach to deal with all of these.
Determined – We believe
passionately that young people on the margins of society must be provided with
opportunities to effect change in themselves, in others and to the community of
which they are part.
“Base
33 plays an important role in the community and offers hope and support to
young people who have lost their way” – David Cameron, Prime Minister.