Empowering Communities: Leroy Philbrook on PAC’s Impact in Pendle

“In 1997, there was a significant youth homelessness crisis,” explains Leroy Philbrook, Partnership and Community Engagement Officer for PAC. “Many people as young as 16 and 17 were falling through the cracks within the local authority and ending up with nowhere to stay.”

In response, the community repurposed a couple of houses in Nelson and offered shelter for eight young people. “They provided support, helped them find work, developed life skills, and secured permanent housing for them.”

This initiative marked the inception of the project Safe Space, which continues to operate under the charity Positive Action in the Community (PAC) umbrella 25 years later. “Safe Space now manages two multi-occupancy buildings—one in Rossendale and one in Nelson. Both provide supported accommodation for young people aged 16 to 21 who would otherwise be homeless. Demand for the accommodation has always been high but since the pandemic began, the 33 units of accommodation have been fully occupied.”

Due to the surge in demand, Safe Space launched the Homelessness Awareness Prevention and Intervention Programme (HAPI). With no additional space to accommodate more young people, the charity now also focuses on aiding those at risk of homelessness within the community and trying to prevent homelessness for young people. “We’ve supported around 300 young people in the past 12 months, helping them find accommodation or work, offering mental health counselling, and mediating with families when staying at home is a safe option,” Leroy explains.

“When I was in my darkest places, there was always someone there for me,” says a young person living in Safe Space supported accommodation.

Approximately 20 years ago, PAC expanded its services to address domestic abuse by developing the Pendle Domestic Violence Initiative, now known as Be Free, which extended to Rossendale in January 2022. “We have two safe houses accommodating up to six families fleeing domestic abuse,” Leroy notes. Beyond providing refuge, Be Free offers various support services, including a wide range of community-based support, including a helpline, safety planning, peer support, group programmes, advocacy, and counselling.

“One shocking statistic is that the average person trapped in a domestic abuse situation is physically assaulted 35 times before seeking help,” says Leroy. “We want to spread the message that we’re here, and those experiencing domestic abuse can reach out to us anonymously through our website, phone, or social media.”

“I was able to be myself and speak freely without judgement,” a mother supported by the Be Free team explains. “It gave me the strength to stand up for myself and my children and get my voice back, which has been lost over many years.”

With 1,500 new contacts with the Be Free team in the past year, the need for help is critical.

“We’ve seen a significant increase overall in demand for all our services,” Leroy remarks. “Before the pandemic, we averaged about 900 referrals annually for all our services. Last year, we had just over 3,000. The recession, increased poverty, and COVID have contributed to this.”

To address these issues, PAC’s Evolve programme focuses on prevention and tackling key factors exacerbating homelessness and domestic abuse. Evolve offers a range of universal and early intervention programmes, which include free counselling, workforce development and training, peer support groups, young people and adult employability skills, and the Healthy Relationships programme. “This educational programme is free for schools and community groups, teaching young people to recognise unhealthy relationships, whether intimate, peer, or familial.”

“In our first year, we engaged 500 young people with the programme. Last year, that number rose to over 5,000.”

Evolve also operates the Waterside Youth Club in Colne, engaging over 100 young people weekly and also delivering holiday clubs. “Over the summer, the centre has taken children on nature walks, and each week is filled with activities from arts and crafts to lessons on healthy eating,” Leroy says.

“Waterside is a real community asset,” Claire Bennett, Chief Executive of PAC, explains. “It sits within the heart of the Waterside ward. Since opening, we have been inundated with demand for youth club nights and youth activities, for which we have worked hard to find funding and deliver. We know that young people struggle in Colne for positive things to do, and as such, some find themselves getting a bad name for themselves. However, we also know that these young people are also hungry for opportunities and thrive on them when they are available. Evidence has shown that they significantly benefit from a well-managed youth provision that understands young people and their needs, which is what our Evolve provision within Positive Action in the Community does.”

Unfortunately, in the past, the centre has been targeted by vandals. “When we find that our building has been damaged, on purpose, it is extremely frustrating as that means we have to spend money on repairs rather than delivering youth work. However, we are determined not to let a small minority spoil it for the majority, and we are now working with our young people to fundraise and develop plans to make the youth club sustainable. We want them to see that it’s their asset, for them and other young people, and they can decide what this will look like now and in the future. We want our Waterside centre to be run by the community for the community. If anyone can support this with their time or donations (financial or in-kind) or can support us in any other way, please get in touch!” Claire says.

If you or someone you know could benefit from PAC’s work or if you’d like to organise a fundraiser, visit https://www.p-a-c.org.uk

ColneLife Sep/Oct 24