Leroy Betts has lived in Burngreave all his life. He has just been appointed as a Community Engagement Manager at BNDfC and, as he explains, is grateful to have the chance to put something back into his local community. He says:
“I have worked in regeneration before, in other parts of Sheffield and outside of the city and I always came back home to Burngreave and thought something needed to be done here. It was my goal to work in Burngreave and help drive the change. Over the past three years things have started to happen and now I am part of it which is great.”
Leroy thinks the key to regenerating Burngreave is getting local people involved. In his new role he wants to try and engage as many people as possible, especially those in the groups that are hardest to reach such as young people, so they have a say in what happens in their area through the New Deal programme.
He believes the central element to all this work is the self-development of local people, getting them involved and introducing them to training and job opportunities, for example.
“I want to empower local people so we can work together to make the changes we all want to see. Burngreave is a fantastic area to live and work – the diversity is brilliant and it is bubbling with vibrancy.”
He also recognises the importance of raising the profile of BNDfC and making people aware of the opportunities that are now open to them. Says Leroy:
“I had to do it the hard way – New Deal was not around when I was younger, I knew what I wanted to do but it took me until I was 25 to get my first job. This would not be the case now – I can’t stress to people enough what a difference they could make to their own life by taking advantage of what is on offer for them.
“I’ve lived in Burngreave for a long time now and seen people struggle year after year – through New Deal we now have the opportunity for people to develop themselves in areas that they are interested in and build a profession for themselves like I have done in regeneration.”
This page is produced by the New Deal executive team.