These are tough times in Sheffield. At the time of writing, Tier 3 lockdown measures are in place and it’s October half-term, with holiday hunger a major topic of conversation.
These issues can be added to a long list that affect the daily lives of residents in the areas of Upperthorpe, Netherthorpe and Langsett. Deprivation, exclusion, poor health and youth exploitation are ongoing problems. In the middle of it all, though, is Zest.
Zest is an award-winning community enterprise delivering high quality, responsive services to local people, tackling local inequalities and improving wellbeing.
Now into its 22nd year, the Zest Centre benefits from a Victorian era swimming pool, two gyms (one female-only), a library, café, sports hall and outdoor facilities. As well as community sport sessions including football, basketball, table tennis and cycling they have a plethora of support for local residents across health (physical and mental), employment, training, education, disability and social isolation, to name just a few.
Zest is situated in a richly multi-cultural part of Sheffield. In 2019, 83% of children and families accessing their services were from ethnically diverse backgrounds. Zest is a hub where everyone is welcomed and inequalities of all kinds are tackled.
That makes it the perfect environment for Levelling the Playing Field, to which Zest have signed up as a Local Delivery Partner. Sessions are due to start soon.
Zest recently received a share of the Sport England ‘Tackling Inequalities Fund’ which was distributed by the Alliance of Sport and Criminal Justice to frontline organisations delivering Levelling the Playing Field.
“Sport is massive for us,” says Youth Coordinator Lloyd Samuels, who’s worked at Zest for six years. "For us it’s a major part of our mental health and wellbeing programmes.
These issues can be added to a long list that affect the daily lives of residents in the areas of Upperthorpe, Netherthorpe and Langsett. Deprivation, exclusion, poor health and youth exploitation are ongoing problems. In the middle of it all, though, is Zest.
Zest is an award-winning community enterprise delivering high quality, responsive services to local people, tackling local inequalities and improving wellbeing.
Now into its 22nd year, the Zest Centre benefits from a Victorian era swimming pool, two gyms (one female-only), a library, café, sports hall and outdoor facilities. As well as community sport sessions including football, basketball, table tennis and cycling they have a plethora of support for local residents across health (physical and mental), employment, training, education, disability and social isolation, to name just a few.
Zest is situated in a richly multi-cultural part of Sheffield. In 2019, 83% of children and families accessing their services were from ethnically diverse backgrounds. Zest is a hub where everyone is welcomed and inequalities of all kinds are tackled.
That makes it the perfect environment for Levelling the Playing Field, to which Zest have signed up as a Local Delivery Partner. Sessions are due to start soon.
Zest recently received a share of the Sport England ‘Tackling Inequalities Fund’ which was distributed by the Alliance of Sport and Criminal Justice to frontline organisations delivering Levelling the Playing Field.
“Sport is massive for us,” says Youth Coordinator Lloyd Samuels, who’s worked at Zest for six years. "For us it’s a major part of our mental health and wellbeing programmes.
“At the moment we’re having to make decisions on sessions day by day due to Covid. It’s just about having services available and providing that sense of normality for kids. It’s so important.
“The Tackling Inequalities funding is brilliant,” adds Lloyd. “It will give much-needed support for the organisation through Covid, enabling us to get sessions on where restrictions allow it and provide a safety net through a really difficult time.”
Zest has almost 70 staff and over 100 volunteers operating its massive array of programmes and community services across the city.
Last year, 970 individuals were supported to improve their health and wellbeing by Zest. That number included sports provision but also programmes to help people stop smoking, help with Type 2 diabetes and a £1.5m five-year contract to deliver the Sheffield Adult and Family Weight Management service.
With Local Authority and CCG funding, Zest linked with GPs to help meet local mental health needs: last year, 323 people were referred by GPs and other health professionals to Zest’s social prescribing service.
Zest’s youth clubs, sport sessions and training, education and employment programmes bring them face to face with issues affecting young people. Lloyd puts it into stark perspective.
“We’re actually surrounded by several middle-class areas and everybody’s got their own habits – cocaine, heroin, weed, crack; they all come to this area to score,” he explains. “It’s a battle for us to keep kids out of that part of the economy. As soon as we save one, another one gets recruited, and I mean the very next day. We can see it on their faces straight away.
“What we see coming through the door is young people who have got issues not of their own making but of the environment where they’re from. Things can range from being pistol-whipped to severe mental health episodes. We try to give them a sense of stability.
“For a young person, they see things in black and white. We give them really clear lines of what we expect from them, not just in the club but also in the community. They trust us and see us as ‘elders’. They know that if they come into this office it’s either for counselling or disciplining!
“They want a bit of positive leadership that helps them to move forward in a positive way. They trust us. It’s essentially an old-fashioned youth work model.”
Volunteering is a common way to help young people move forward with their lives – 102 were trained as volunteers in the Young People and Families team programme last year.
Whilst the area’s social problems and inequalities remain (and are at great risk of exacerbation during the Covid-19 pandemic) Zest’s plethora of services will continue to provide a vital safety net for the community through even the toughest of times.
Go to zestcommunity.co.uk and follow Zest on Instagram and Twitter
“The Tackling Inequalities funding is brilliant,” adds Lloyd. “It will give much-needed support for the organisation through Covid, enabling us to get sessions on where restrictions allow it and provide a safety net through a really difficult time.”
Zest has almost 70 staff and over 100 volunteers operating its massive array of programmes and community services across the city.
Last year, 970 individuals were supported to improve their health and wellbeing by Zest. That number included sports provision but also programmes to help people stop smoking, help with Type 2 diabetes and a £1.5m five-year contract to deliver the Sheffield Adult and Family Weight Management service.
With Local Authority and CCG funding, Zest linked with GPs to help meet local mental health needs: last year, 323 people were referred by GPs and other health professionals to Zest’s social prescribing service.
Zest’s youth clubs, sport sessions and training, education and employment programmes bring them face to face with issues affecting young people. Lloyd puts it into stark perspective.
“We’re actually surrounded by several middle-class areas and everybody’s got their own habits – cocaine, heroin, weed, crack; they all come to this area to score,” he explains. “It’s a battle for us to keep kids out of that part of the economy. As soon as we save one, another one gets recruited, and I mean the very next day. We can see it on their faces straight away.
“What we see coming through the door is young people who have got issues not of their own making but of the environment where they’re from. Things can range from being pistol-whipped to severe mental health episodes. We try to give them a sense of stability.
“For a young person, they see things in black and white. We give them really clear lines of what we expect from them, not just in the club but also in the community. They trust us and see us as ‘elders’. They know that if they come into this office it’s either for counselling or disciplining!
“They want a bit of positive leadership that helps them to move forward in a positive way. They trust us. It’s essentially an old-fashioned youth work model.”
Volunteering is a common way to help young people move forward with their lives – 102 were trained as volunteers in the Young People and Families team programme last year.
Whilst the area’s social problems and inequalities remain (and are at great risk of exacerbation during the Covid-19 pandemic) Zest’s plethora of services will continue to provide a vital safety net for the community through even the toughest of times.
Go to zestcommunity.co.uk and follow Zest on Instagram and Twitter