Wandsworth Council has launched a new mobile youth bus that will ensure young people have access to education, mental and sexual health services on their doorstep.
The Mayor, Cllr Kate Stock and Fleur Anderson MP were in attendance as the new service – the first of its kind in the borough – was launched in Roehampton.
The bus will be based in Roehampton as part of our work on the Alton Estate Regeneration. Additional funding has come from the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit providing flexibility to regularly visit other locations across Wandsworth on a six-day route, including Battersea and Tooting, based on where young people are.
This is an exciting moment for our young people across the borough as they will have access to a purpose-built space which includes a music studio, interactive white board, and game consoles. This will enable children to safely engage, learn and interact with each other.
Working with partners including voluntary sector youth organisations, the bus will engage with young people enabling them to access mental health support, skills and employment guidance, sexual health advice, citizens advice and much more.
Kate Stock, Cabinet Member for Children, said: “This is great news for children and young people in our local communities. I’m really pleased that this new service in Wandsworth will travel to the heart of our communities where young people are, giving them a safe place to go, providing engaging activities and offering them someone to speak to.
“With our new youth bus, we have listened to what our children and young people have told us they wanted, through our listening and engaging events over the summer.
“It takes a village to raise a child, but it also takes a community to raise a generation. We are really hoping this will be the next step in offering a more diverse, agile and needs led offer for all children and young people in Wandsworth.”
Lamees Bazuti, a young resident who attends activity centres in Wandsworth said: “I can really see all the amazing benefits the bus will bring for many young people in this area and I am excited to see what happens next.”
