“Doing life” in Enfield by Kat Simmonds
I moved to Enfield Lock in September 2006 to be part of the new youth and community team for Oasis but my involvement in Oasis began five years earlier when in, September 2001, I took part in a Frontline* gap year.
My year with Oasis was fantastic and led me to explore studying youth work more formally with Oasis’ Youth Work and Ministry degree. At the end of my degree I was told about the new Oasis project in Enfield – the more I heard about it the more excited I became. When I was offered a job as a Youth Development Worker in Enfield, there was no question I’d take it.
I moved to Enfield, not really knowing anything at all about the area. I soon realised from people's responses when I told them where I lived that in their opinion, I was living on the ‘wrong’ side of town. But I loved it and realised that this wasn't the case at all! I developed a great affection for the community I lived and worked in, for the people who lived there, and for the peculiar ways of the area. It quickly felt like home.
Through my year out and training I already knew about Oasis’ ethos and was excited by it, but struggled to envisage what that meant in reality. A few months after I moved to Enfield it all came together. The holistic and inclusive approach of the project became real to me as I lived as part of the community – some of the best conversations I have with people we meet through our projects are when I pop to the local shop for some milk. For me, the response we have seen from ‘doing life’ in Enfield has been one of the most exciting aspects.
I feel privileged to work with the young people we contact through our activities. That doesn’t mean they are always angels – they lead chaotic lifestyles, some commit anti-social behaviour and are well know to the Police. There is a lot of drug use in the community, we are dealing with gangs and at times I have been on the receiving end of some very aggressive behaviour. But they way we do our work means you really get to see the changes and developments in the young people. We celebrate the small and big achievements - whether it is helping homeless young people find accommodation, working with someone to reduce their drug use, or simply when someone drops their guard and smiles at you.
There are two main drivers to our work in Enfield. The first is to provide activities that enable young people to choose a positive future and we are very fortunate to work with some great local partners to provide youth work in the community. Our second driver or characteristic is to be sure to have workers and volunteers who genuinely care for our young people - something they are often not used to, but that makes all the difference.
My role in the team has recently changed to be the team manager for the Enfield Youth and Community Team. I have a fantastic team of youth workers and volunteers to work with who are committed to the transformation of this community and the young people we work with.
*Oasis now offers 360 for 18+, for more information visit www.oasisuk.org/threesixty
‘Thanks to our partnerships with Oasis and close working relationships with individual youth workers, we are more successful in making life safer for young people in Enfield Lock"
"The future of young people in Enfield Lock has been improved by the close partnership between the local police community team and Oasis."
Sergeant Dick Whitehouse from Enfield Lock Safer Neighbourhood Team