A PROJECT in Camelford is aiming to support youngsters in the area.

Camelford Youth Café meets every Thursday evening from 7pm until 9pm at the Old Bank in the centre of town, and is led by five dedicated adults, with four young volunteers.

Twenty-year-old student Chelsea Vidler leads the youth project, and is keen to spread awareness of what they can offer young people in the Camelford area.

She said: “We aim to support young people with their mental health, physical health and promote resilience, as well as giving the young people in this area something positive to focus on out of school hours.”

The project has been running for approximately two years, having been set up by Young People Cornwall and the members of the public, including Chelsea, who were passionate about giving youngsters a voice in their community, as well as quashing the idea that young people cause trouble.

“There’s been a lot of negative activity surrounding young people,” Chelsea continued. “We just thought it was time to take back ownership of young people, to change the common perception of them and show that there is no reason for them to be judged so harshly. We wanted to give them a place where they could fully express themselves.”

The project welcomes all 11 to 16-year-olds of any gender, sexual orientation, race and religion. There is no discrimination — if anybody would like to join, all they need to do is contact Chelsea on [email protected] or turn up on a Thursday evening.

“We try to be as active as we can, but recently it’s been tricky to say the least,” said Chelsea.

The club has recently received £500 of funding, which they have spent on new equipment to use during the meetings on Thursday evenings — including games tables and a Nintendo Wii. This is all working towards providing a fun, safe, friendly environment to allow Camelford youngsters to grow and thrive every week.

To follow what the project is doing, like and follow their social medias — Youth Café Camelford on Facebook; youthcafecamelford on Instagram — and you can also find out more by visiting theoldbank.org.uk/clubs/youth-café