Project aims to turn youngsters’ lives around

A PROBLEM shared halved.

That’s the thinking behind a new ‘Talk and Walk’ initiative being led by the pioneering Carmarthen Youth Project in South Wales.

The Carmarthen Youth Project is aiming to turn around the lives of hundreds of youngsters with a series of events designed to get them fit and healthy both physically and emotionally.

It’s all part of a wider Health and Wellbeing programme launched in July by the team at the newly renovated drop-in centre in Carmarthen, also known to locals as Dr M’z and is a problem run for youngsters aged between 11 and 15. The centre offers a safe, educational, and fun place for young people to meet.

There are also Wellbeing Wednesdays and Fitness Fridays where the youngsters can do an hour’s exercise or cook a healthy meal.

Meanwhile another strand of the programme, funded by the Police and Crime Commissioner and developed with the help of Welsh Women’s Aid, aims to teach the youngsters about healthy relationships.

“With our project, called ‘Star’, we want to show how to navigate rela- tionships between friends, family and at school,” said Gayle, who has been working at the centre for 21 years. “It’s good to talk about how to get on at school and avoid bullying, for example, or maybe they want guidance on how to better their relationship with their parents.”

The centre also has a special ‘digilab’, with computers, cameras and video equipment for courses in digital storytelling, music making, film making, photo-editing and IT skills.

The centre has this year been chosen as a charity partner for TSB Carmarthen.