HEET at the Rec

Story: Farhan Ahmed

Photos: David Ainscough

The HEET event held at Verdon Street on 1st March was aimed at young people, providing enlightment on health, education, employment and training.

Communities Development officer Patrick Edwards, for Sheffield Primary Care Trust, organised the event. Institutions from the Burngreave community and other areas were present. A wider audience attended as well as the youths.

Anna Maria of Burngreave Community Learning Campaign said, “It’s fantastic to see different stalls that are not even from Burngreave, this shows people are helping us.”

This event was not restricted to the space in the Rec centre. Outside, with the Burngreave truck, musical performances, sports activities and guest speakers took the stage. It was a good split that allowed people to calmly seek information inside or to join in with the fun outside.

As with any event this too had some drawbacks. This occasion was aimed at young people but only the older generation seemed to be present inside. I think this is because stalls of information are not an effective way to communicate with the younger generation. The youngsters were crowded outside where it was ‘kicking’.

Mr Latif brought his kick boxing crew along and had them wear their costumes and walk around handing out information leaflets. This worked well and allowed them to provide first hand information. As youngsters we can, from time to time, switch onto ‘screensaver’ mode, but by approaching us and getting our attention we concentrate more.

Many people thought it was a good event and took the point of view expressed by a representative of the Connexions team: “This is a useful exercise, and we should do it on a regular basis”.