Reflections and Focus on Shared Territories

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by Rocca Gutteridge, 10 Aug 2011

I had a great chat with my friend Jules Barnes the other day.

Jules is the Community Development Worker at LGBT Centre for Health and Wellbeing, on the way back from an ever-empowering game of basketball we discussed the importance of longevity, focus and commitment when running community projects.

It’s the summer holidays and my Shared Territories group are a bit on and off with the now brilliant resource of a session we’ve set up at North Edinburgh Arts. Every Wednesday we have professional voice and dance coaches in to teach our group of 8 – 18 year old, mixed everythings, to dance, sing and become whatever they want to be in the world of urban arts and hip hop.

But I have a sinking feeling that as well as the summer fun I might have also contributed to the slightly less turning up every week factor that the group held just a month ago.

I missed a session due to a delayed flight on the way back from a holiday. The group turned up as usual in their masses (20 brilliantly bonkers kids running around North Edinburgh foyer, ready for hip hop action) and no me so they were all sent away. bang. next week… 6 kids and a bit of a struggle ever since to be honest.

Telling Jules, she gulped and explained- the group have to learn to trust the programme, to feel they can turn up every week and it will be just fine, and great, and there for them. The project has only been running since March so one week with a mess up and you’ll loose them.

Harsh, but I can see the sense. If I turned up to my Tuesday basketball session and the coach wasn’t there just one week (I’ve only been going a few times) I’d be disappointed, loose faith and wonder about the professionalism of the group I’m committing my time too. And I’ve been let down a lot less than some of the kids I’m working with at Muirhouse.

We cant all be perfect of course but it did make me consider where my strengths lay- in setting up projects, ideas, giving things that kick and va va voom to get them going? And maybe my strengths just don’t lie in the week in week out commitment that I now think this project needs. The break dance coach and voice coach are excellent, reliable on a weekly basis and execute things to the end. I’m being harsh on myself but I think it might my time to consider if I’ve done my role or at least what my role now is with my weekly North Edinburgh Arts sessions. I’ve set up something that will sustain itself, live on and have a legacy beyond my contracted time. Do I take a step back and watch the group progress, adding ideas and input when I think needed or step out all together and do what I think I do best, getting another idea off the ground, setting it off and letting it roll on…. hmmm.

Lu Angel voice coach at North Edinburgh Arts

Comments

11 Aug 2011

lauren fox

Hmmm…interesting indeed. Really good for anyone running community projects to reflect on these things regularly, for sure. But don’t be too harsh on yourself. its the hardest thing about community projects in a way – they need your utter commitment to keep them going, but by committing so much to one thing you limit your capacity to spread the energy and get other brilliant projects going too. it’s about balance i guess – ensuring a basic commitment, but also delegating and sharing leadership so it can carry on without you. i always found handing things over pretty hard to be honest – you want someone else to take over a bit, so the group can function fully without you being there full-time, but at the same time it’s so great to feel at the centre of something, feeling like you are driving and maintaining it.

Like i said – so good, and so important to reflect like this, for all of us, but don’t be too harsh on yourself either. we’re all doing our best, you’re doing your best, and at the end of the day you’re only human….. :-)

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