The Bus

At a time when the Trust first began, the requirement arose to find a way to engage with the youth of the area. Conventional youth facilities no longer worked for this group and so an innovative solution was required. The answer that came was a mobile facility and so work began to locate an appropriate vehicle which could be fitted out for the purpose.

A single decked Bus was located at an affordable price and work began to convert it. The principal youth worker at the time, who developed the project, was Graham Slater, and although we called it the 3:16 Bus (John 3:16) it became known to the young people as Graham’s Bus.

The project was extremely successful and was seen by people as a solution to the perception of anti-social behaviour in areas of the city where disaffected young people gathered. The Youth Bus Project was a mobile youth provision which created a sense of time and location for the young person and was capable of meeting them where they are. Consequently the Bus was owned by the young people and valued by them also and so became a feature of the work of the Trust.

As’ Graham’s Bus’ aged so the need for a new facility arose and a new double decked vehicle was kindly gifted to the Trust by Stagecoach. It was equipped with a large plasma screen TV for music DVDs and films, eight computer games consoles, a quiet chill out zone, and a games area. This additional facility was simply called ‘The Bus’ Route 4:19 was its designation, (this being a reference to 1 John 4:19).

The focus of "The Bus" continued to be those young people designated as hard to reach, those for whom there was no other provision. This provided a great opportunity to develop contact with young people and further engagement is often not only requested by young people but also actively sought by them.

Sadly the Bus was vandalised by thieves who stole all of the equipment and who then wreaked havoc on the interior of the Bus. This damage caused was so significant that the Bus has had to be stripped back to its shell. However, in considering the most beneficial refurbishment programme, it was agreed that the Bus was required to deal with a wider audience, and to be a multi-purpose facility. Accordingly it is being refitted, as funding can be raised, and it will go back onto the road mid-year 2010 both to continue to work with young people but also to be used in the daytime for parenting groups, open days for organisations/authorities, and other such general usage. The Bus will also be available for hire by organisations with or without a driver.