Participation in the Young Roots project has been offered to all residents within the foyer and a large number of them have become involved. We have already obtained some useful information about the building from old newspapers held in the local library and have attended a coffee morning at a care home where elderly members of the local community were able to provide some interesting recollections about previous occupants of the building. We are also busy rehearsing some entertainment we intend to provide for Age Concern as a thankyou for their participation in our project. The Young Roots team have written poems and songs which they will deliver individually at the event and we will all sing a number of songs specially selected by the team members. Surprisingly I think for everyone, we have enjoyed the rehearsals, in particular the singing where there has been much fun and laughter as well as plenty of tea and biscuits.

We have also contacted the local newspaper who will visit the foyer to take some photographs and discuss our requirements. From this we hope to be able to interview various members of the local community who have knowledge of the history of the building and its occupants, and if they are willing to record this on video. We also intend to carry out research at lincoln archives, local estate agents, local solicitors, land registry as well as numerous other activities and as a consequence team members will gain some useful skills such as teamwork, communication, decision making, research, problem solving, interviewing, presentation, photography and video skills.

At the end of the project we intend to produce a brochure containing the information and pictures we have  obtained about the building and its occupants which will be distributed to local health centres, libraries and educational establishments. We also intend to produce a DVD which will contain interviews of members of the community and past residents and we will design a plaque to be situated at the foyer. The project will culminate in a presentation/open day for family, friends and members of the community where we will deliver our findings, unveil the plaque and bury a time capsule containing all of the information we have obtained and photographs of team members, residents and staff for future historians.

So all I can finally say about our project is that our Young Roots are fed, watered and cared for and as a result are growing and flourishing.

We recently held an open day and invited referring agencies, the local community to come and have a look around our Foyer and speak with us and the staff. We wanted to try and raise the Foyers profile and give everyone a chance to see exactly what Foyers do.

The residents led the day as we had designed the invitation (well Chloe and Steph), we all cleaned the building the day before, and Kyle, Jenny, Sam, Steph, Hannah, Danny and myself helped out on the day. We were responsible for showing the visitors round the building, serving tea and coffee and raising money for a new pool table through selling cakes etc. We didn’t raise a great deal that day about £20 as we didn’t want to turn it into a fundraising day, but every bit helps. However, we have since received some vouchers from the local co-op and some funding from the Rotary Club, so we are well on the way now to getting our new pool table. We were visited by the local Mayor and the High Sherriff of Lincolnshire and his good lady, who were very impressed with the building the residents and the staff. It was a very interesting day and it really boosted my confidence.

Mark Wright

Market Rasen Foyer

We took part in events for comic relief to help underprivileged children, we did a sponsored walk and a window wash in the local community. We were supposed to be going down to the local police station to do a car wash for them, but unfortunately something happened that morning and all the cars were out and about. We raised £94.46 in total from all the events. On the evening we had a bit of fun with the staff which everyone was looking forward to as it was Role Reversal time. The residents became staff and the staff became residents. We took on the roles of manager, secretary, key workers, someone from Head Office. It was an eye opener as the staff (pretending to be residents) caused some havoc for us to deal with, but we felt we dealt with it very well, issuing warnings appropriately. It was certainly hard work and we appreciate a bit more what the staff really deal with!!! I think everyone was in bed by 10 o clock that night!

Residents of Market Rasen Foyer

“Market Rasen Foyer in Lincolnshire has a no-alcohol policy. The residents asked the Foyer to look again at this policy, as we thought that it was unfair that we could not drink alcohol in our own rooms. The Foyer agreed to discuss the policy, so all the residents and all the staff got together to discuss it.

We all agreed that we would have a trail period when alcohol would be allowed, to see how things went. All the residents and staff agreed on some rules that we would have to keep, and we all had a chance to discuss these. In the end we came up with a list of rights and responsibilities, including:

· Alcohol was only allowed in your room, not in shared areas

· No empty cans or bottles to be left around

· Residents would have to behave and not disturb others

· Buying alcohol had to be budgeted, and should not impact the ability to pay rent or come instead of buying food and other essentials.

We all signed up to these Rights and Responsibilities, saying we would abide with them.

It all went well for a few weeks, but then unfortunately a few residents started going against some of the rules we had agreed on. It wasn’t too serious, like leaving empty cans lying around for ages, and drinking in the corridors. But after a couple of warnings, the ban on alcohol was put back on.

There’s less hassle between residents due to the no alcohol policy, because little niggles turn into much bigger conflict when there’s alcohol involved. On the other hand it is annoying not being able to drink in my room when I want to relax and watch football.”

Lee Dixon

“The ban was put on initially after some serious problems were caused by residents drinking too much. But we agreed to review the process and it worked quite well for a few weeks, before some residents forgot the rules they had agreed to, and the ban was put back on. Going through the process of agreeing the Rights and Responsibilities with the young people was very positive, as everyone had a chance to have their say, and they knew where they stood. So when people did break the agreement, everyone understood why the ban was put back on”.

Lindsey Moulds, Manager

The residents of Market Rasen Foyer recently organised an Open Gardens Event in the grounds of their Foyer.