The sun was shining and the roads were glistening, Day 1 of the NWG road trip was beginning. 92 hours north bound and we arrived in Bradford at the BLAST project. BLAST has been working with boys and young men being, who are or are at risk of being, sexually exploited since 2003.

They are one of only two projects in the UK who work solely with boys and young men. Cheryl and Lesley attended one of BLASTS Open Mornings (which run at both their Bradford and Leeds bases) throughout the year. Phil Mitchell the project coordinator who facilitated a very informative session about everything you would need to know about the BLAST project warmly welcomed us.

It was great to hear how central to the whole project the relationship with the young people was, the project try to keep informal in its approach to create a relaxed atmosphere for the boys and young men. They are focused on working from where the young person is at, rather than assuming where the young person should be.

Based on their experience of working with boys and young men, they are about to release some new B+YM ONLY resources! It was encouraging to hear about the high volume (thousands) of young people who have accessed BLAST’s services in the last 9 years. What struck us the most was that most of this work is carried out by 2 members of staff and 5 volunteers! So if you happen to live in the Bradford or Leeds area and would like to hear more about volunteering with BLAST then please do get in touch with Phil. Thank you again to Phil for having us to visit!