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What is ‘everyday success’ for young people in Greater Manchester?
Greater Manchester’s #BeeWell Youth Steering Group have been talking to young people and organisations across the region, collecting stories of how ‘everyday success’ impacts the wellbeing of young people. We share those stories here. Thank you to everyone who has taken part. If you, or a young person you work with, has a story to share then contact beewell@manchester.ac.uk.
Over recent months, #BeeWell has made changes to the way we report on wellbeing in Greater Manchester. So that we can better explain our data and use it to inspire action for young people, we have begun to break our work down into four mission statements – four headings that are the cornerstones of wellbeing:
The first three of these feel self-explanatory and obvious. You might say that successful does too, but what does ‘success’ really mean for young people?
Our Youth Steering Group highlighted that, while to many people success means doing well at school, getting good grades, going to university, and getting a good job – they aren’t the only ways in which young people are successful.
In fact, there are young people who are being successful every day without even realising it.
The group wanted to look at the more everyday ways in which young people demonstrate success. At the same time, they wanted to explore how this affects their wellbeing.
They chose three data points from the #BeeWell survey which they think demonstrate success:
In the latest survey, 77% of young people agreed or strongly agreed with the statement ‘I have been feeling good about myself.’
70% of young people told us that they had a place to go to talk about worries or mental heath concerns.
1 in 3 young people told us that they do volunteer work at least once a month.
At our latest #BeeWell event, we asked attendees what they thought about success and these findings from the survey data:
And, with these three data points as our guide, we have been talking to people from across Greater Manchester to hear how their success in these areas has improved their wellbeing. There are some really inspiring stories. We hope these will help people to understand their own successes, to see great work that is going on across our region, and to think of new ways that they can work to improve their own wellbeing.
Written by Freya, read this article about how volunteer work has impacted her life and her wellbeing.
Ryan’s story is an amazing example of how engaging in activities that prepare you for your future can be a perfect way to make you feel good about yourself in the here and now. Here, Julia Hannam, Programme Coordinator at Greater Manchester Youth Network (GMYN), shares Ryan’s inspiring story!
Watch a video with Army of Kindness, a Soup Kitchen in Rochdale, where we speak with young volunteers about how volunteering is an example of success and can boost your wellbeing.
Watch a video and read about how 42nd Street work with young people at Cedar Mount Academy, and the impact this has on wellbeing and feelings of success.
Three young people from YouthLeads share what success means to them.
Daisy talks to us about how her experiences of playing lacrosse have helped her wellbeing and how physical activity can help everybody.
Watch this short video or read the full interview with Kane about doing work that makes him feel good about himself.
In this video, A tells us about his work at Ceracycloan, which supported him to feel good about himself and feel more hopeful for the future.
