Point young people’s centre in Fishguard is in the running for a national award, due to the sterling work of its youth workers during lockdown.

Point is a finalist in the 2021 Youth Excellence Awards in the category Outstanding Contribution to Youth Work During the Pandemic.

The service has been nominated for its lockdown project Point on Your Doorstep which was developed during the height of the pandemic as a way for youth workers to stay connected with young people, offering Covid19-safe, face-to-face check-ins on their doorsteps.

This provided support for young people's wellbeing and also encouraged young people to get active.

Youth workers delivered packs of puzzles, cards, games, wildflower seeds, colouring pages and mindfulness books.

During July they started a food project where youth workers brought young people a bag of ingredients and a recipe of the week.

All the food was free of charge and young people were also given a slow cooker to keep if they didn't already have one. Over the six weeks the project ran, it gave out 120 food packages.

Youth workers also took young people out on socially-distanced walks as part of the doorstep visits.

The scheme was advertised to the local schools and the statutory Youth Service who made referrals for young people who they had concerns about, often due to their isolated location. Welfare visits and a whole range of support services could then be put in place.

“Point is very proud of how the team was able to adapt its services throughout the lockdowns during 2020, evolving as the needs of young people changed,” said a Point spokesperson.

“Staff worked tirelessly to adapt services, in consultation with young people and with statutory services, to be able to continue to connect and reach out to young people.”

The judging was impressed with the extent of the team’s adaptation, determination and passion to continually evolve and find a way forward for the benefit of young people, saying it was ‘a team that provided an excellent service that went far beyond its day-to-day role’.

The awards are being held on YouTube today, Thursday, December 9 at 3:30pm.