Partnership project to encourage good decision making
An innovative partnership between West Lothian Council and youth work organisation Fast Forward is supporting local young people to look at the potential consequences of their actions
Own It! Is a pilot on-line, interactive resource where participants make decisions regarding a range of risk-taking behaviours, in a safe and supportive environment, and learn from the potential positive and negative outcomes.
It has been developed as part of the council's Community Learning and Development (CLD) Youth Services team in conjunction with Fast Forward, who provide high quality health education and prevention interventions and projects.
A total of 15 young people from council's Skills Training Programme have had the opportunity to get involved in developing an interactive story to be incorporated into the first Own It! resource in Scotland
The choices relate to resilience, alcohol, drugs, gambling and how their choices directly affect their lives, and the lives of others. This pilot will be used to develop a training resource for use with other young people as well as building an understanding of choices and consequences and building digital skills with the group.
The pilot has given the young people involved an opportunity to take the reins creatively in developing an innovative, interactive resource which will empower other young people to make better choices and decisions."
Allie Cherry-Byrnes, CEO of Fast Forward, said; "We are delighted to be working with local young people and staff from the council's CLD Youth Services team to pilot the development of our first Own It! resource.
"We are confident that this innovative approach will support young people across Scotland to explore risk-taking behaviours, including alcohol and drug use, gambling, relationships and consent; enabling this experience to inform their decision-making processes in real life.
"The young people involved in developing the resource will learn invaluable skills through the process which they can then take into other aspects of their lives, including employment; and the Own It! resource will be used with other young people being supported by West Lothian Council's Skills Training Programme, to support."
Executive councillor for education David Dodds said: "The Own It!project is a fantastic scheme, which aims to help our young people and encourage good decision-making.
"It's vital we do all we can to support our young people to achieve their full potential, and understanding the potential positive and negative impact of their actions is a key part of this.
"This is just one of the creative ways that CLD Youth Services have been engaging young people during the current pandemic."
