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 Oxygen in the clubs and on the street
“I’m soooo bored, there’s nothing to do”; whether it be a wet weekend evening, or a summer school holiday daytime this frequently heard cry of depressed world-weariness brings frustration, exasperation and a little fear to a parent of a modern teen.
Given the familiarity and frequency that boredom crops up in contemporary society it would be easy to respond to the suggestion there is nothing to do with providing more and better entertainment, yet in reality the true answer to the question of boredom lies far deeper.
As highlighted in the recent UNICEF report children and young people in the UK lie at the bottom of the world’s richest nations in the charts that seek to measure well being. Many of the young people interviewed talked about lacking someone who would listen to them, or didn’t have close friends with whom they could share and explore life questions. In the age of playstations 1, 2 and 3 what the UNICEF report reveals is that children and young people in the UK don’t lack entertainment opportunities, but lack significant people in their lives who can help them work through and explore major issues relating to identity and belonging.
Given this it is no great surprise that in recent years the most successful and impacting projects that Oxygen has been involved with are those that have provided a place for young people to go where they can meet and share in lives with Oxygen workers and local church volunteers. None of these projects seek to entertain, they are not big glamorous events delivering an emotional high, but rather relational, serving projects that seek to engage with local young people.
In the first of these projects called ROOM, local churches, Oxygen and the Kingston & Wimbledon YMCA have worked together to provide a number of safe, supporting places for young people for several hours a night after school. At room they can complete homework, make friends as well as engage in activities that the workers develop to explore a range of issues. ROOMs are now open in Surbiton, Kingston and New Malden and discussions are being held about expanding into other areas both in and around Kingston Borough.
 Like ROOM, the second Oxygen project URBAN NITES also seeks to engage and get to know young people around the Borough, but unlike ROOM workers at URBAN NITES attempt this outside of a building. Instead of a roof to meet under the volunteers who run Urban Nites meet under the night sky, doing their relationship building youthwork in places where young people meet. This can be on street corners, in church graveyards, or in the middle of local estates. Each week Urban Nites workers go to the place where young people are, giving out drinks and cakes and seek to build engaging, inspiring and empowering relationships. There are now Urban Nites projects operating in New Malden, Surbiton, Kingsnympton, and Kingston Town Centre and in time we hope to restart one on the Cambridge Estate.
What is clear about both these projects is that what young people are not looking for entertainment, the best youthworker or a knowledge of the latest music charts, instead they are needing someone who will commit a couple of hours a week to them to listen, chat maybe make a cake or play pool. Such little actions are enough to counter the increase in loneliness and social deprivation revealed in the UNICEF report.
So next time you hear a teenager utter the statement “I’m Bored” maybe you could refer them to a ROOM or Urban Nites project, or even better still bring them along and getting prayerfully, financially or practically involved yourself. As you do so you will not only be making a major difference to the lives of many young people but I am sure you will be inspired encouraged and empowered yourself.
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