Unheard Voices: A Podcast produced by Children North East and Northumberland College

Unheard Voices is a podcast recorded by our Young Ambassadors at Northumberland College, where young people share their thoughts and views on how those experiencing poverty are affected by everyday life.

We believe that in order for us to properly advocate for change for babies, children and young people we must listen to their voices and understand what life is like for them and they barriers they face to growing up happy and healthy. Through our Poverty Proofing work, we strive to do this with our Young Ambassadors who provide valuable insights in to being a young person today. Partnering with Northumberland College, our team have worked closely with 20 young people, each with their own experiences and stories to tell, to understand how they can be supported. These young people have been truly incredible, showing a real dedication for advocating for their generation and a willingness to open up about their struggles and what they’ve seen on a first-hand basis. Over the months, we’ve discussed how poverty can affect a person’s learning opportunities, life experiences, their feeling of belonging and mental health. Our Young Ambassadors have taken this on and explored what schools and colleges can do to support children experiencing poverty.

From our work, it was clear that the voices of these young people would be invaluable to those wanting to make changes to their settings, and that they wanted to share their views to help others. They proposed we record and release a podcast session, meaning they could openly and informally discuss their thoughts. Three speakers were nominated, and with our Poverty Proofing Support Worker, Unheard Voices was released!

If you’re interested in working with our Poverty Proofing team in your setting, contact us on [email protected] or visit our page to find out more.