Features / Bristol Charity Advent Calendar 2020
Bristol Charity Advent Calendar 2020, day 18: Full Circle @ Docklands
Promoting inclusion and working with young people to help them reach their potential, Full Circle @ Docklands is putting inclusion first.
Offering fun and social educational and sports activities for young people in the city centre, Full Circle was established in the wake of the St Paul’s riots of 1980 by two community social workers and local parents.
The organisation, based at St Paul’s Settlement, has continued to “inspire and raise the ambition” in St Paul’s for 40 years.
is needed now More than ever
“Compared to the rest of Bristol, St Paul’s has disproportionately high level of unemployment and crime rates. It is also is one of the most ethnically diverse areas of Bristol,” says the team at Full Circle, who note that a reason for the riots was widespread frustration around social inequality and lack of community cohesion.
“Although little has changed since the 1980s in terms of the deprivation indices for St Paul’s, as we have grown up local families have grown up with us and our organisation has become the trusted heart and soul of St Paul’s.”
Since launching with the initial idea of offering camping trips for children living in the highly urban neighbourhood, Full Circle has grown to host everything from table tennis clubs, to music sessions, coding groups and basketball, fencing and football playing.
Full Circle @ Docklands offers a huge range of activities for young people living in St Paul’s. Photo: Full Circle @ Docklands
The organisation was able to take back the St Paul’s Settlement Building through a community asset transfer, and, in early 2020 was given £100,000 by Bristol City Council to improve the site. The building is still undergoing its refurbishment, which will see a new lounge and kitchen installed.
“In 2015 when Aspiration Creation Elevation (ACE) and Full Circle took on the Community Asset Transfer of the St Paul’s Settlement from Bristol City Council it came with a need to rectify a lot of years of neglect and lack of investment,” says Jonathon Rogers, chairman of Full Circle.
“This now puts us in a position to reinvest this money into the space on behalf of the community, making it more energy efficient and attractive to a wider base of people whilst still keeping the youth at the heart of what we do.”
Main photo: Full Circle @ Docklands
Read more: Inspiring the young people of St Paul’s
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