Merthyr Housing Youth Group & Community Young People Activities

Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association has the mission of supporting people to help them to fulfil their full potential. In addition to providing safe and secure homes where children and young people can live, grow and prosper, MTHA are committed to ensuring that children and young people living in and around their homes, have the opportunity to build their skills and resilience and support their to improve their lives for the better.

Working with the five pillars of youth work – educative, expressive, participative, inclusive and empowering – the projects, activities and trips that MTHA provide enable young people to develop holistically. MTHA work with young people to facilitate their personal, social and educational development.

Below are a range of projects where MTHA take a lead on within the local community.

Fit and Fed Merthyr Tydfil

Fit and Fed Merthyr Tydfil is a school holiday provision that looks to tackle the following issues in children and young people:

• Holiday hunger
• Loneliness and isolation
• Lack of physical activity.

A borough wide project was established in the summer of 2018 to work with local partners to provide free access to a holiday club. Fit and Fed sessions bring children and young people together and provide a range of activities where they are able to get active; whether this is through sport, fitness, music, drama or art. During each session, healthy snacks are available and each person receives a meal. Each summer holiday an experience day is organised so that those involved with the project, get to take part in a free trip. In 2018 all sites visited Virtigo to have a morning trampolining and in the summer holidays of 2019 a beach 1`sports festival was organised at Aberavon.

This short Youtube clip paints a better picture of what each sites gets up to in their Fit and Fed Sessions.

If you would like to know more about Fit and Fed Merthyr Tydfil, contact Bethan on 01685 352839 or email her on bthomas@mtha.org.uk.

Day Tripper

For children of MTHA tenants, we run a range of day trips during the school holidays. These range from days at the beach to a day at Folly Farm Zoo. All activities are free of charge and all you need to bring is your pack lunch, bucket and spade or your swim suit, depending on the activity. The trips are run by our Community Development Team, where all staff members are qualified youth and/or community workers with enhanced DBS checks and are all first aid trained. Keep an eye out for the post for invites, the Beacon and on our social media for information about up-coming trips.

Check out this YouTube clip to see what activities and trips we went on last year. If you would like to register an interest in your child/children attending these trips, contact Bethan on 01685 352839 or email her on bthomas@mtha.org.uk.

Summer Residential

Our summer residential is an opportunity for the children our tenants to spend a few days away from home. The residential is free for those who wish to attend but they must take part in fundraising activities to help fund the adventure. The time away provides the chance for children and young people to develop positive relationships with friends, peers and staff, as well as developing their knowledge and skills through the informal learning that takes place whilst we are away.  Being away from home helps build confidence, self-esteem and it provides a safe and secure environment where they can explore their values. Most importantly, our summer residential is about having fun. You can often find us body boarding, rock climbing or sitting in front of a beach fire roasting marshmallows.

For a better idea of what we get up to whilst we are on residential, check out this short YouTube clip of our adventures in 2019 at Pendine.

Junior Boxfit – Doorstep Sports Club

In 2014 MTHA began working with Street Games to help increase participation in sport and physical activity amongst children and young people. Our free junior boxfit class takes place on Tuesday evenings at Pant and Dowlais Boys and Girls Club (Engine House). Doorstep Sports Clubs are fun, informal sport sessions that operate at the right time, fo the right price, in the right place and in the right style. For more information about our free junior boxfit class, contact Bethan on 01685 352839 or email her on bthomas@mtha.org.uk.

Youth TSSG

The Youth TSSG is a replica of the scrutiny group that is run by MTHA to get tenants to provide us with their views and ideas on the services that we run. The Youth TSSG provides the opportunity for young people to have a voice and say on the services that affect them. This provides the opportunity for young people to develop their voice, influence and place in society and helps to develop them to be confident enough to become active citizens within their community.