Pictures by TJ VISUALS
A new community centre in Bodmin is set to bring creative opportunities, guidance and a safe space for young people in the area to make their own.
Our young people have much to contend with in 2024, at a time of high costs, few opportunities and little support. This is something youth advocate, founder of the youth movement KBSK, and performer, Adie Dove, knows all too well.
Last time we met Adie, who appeared as the very first front cover star of Bodmin Life magazine in 2021, she was leading a group of young people with a history of offending into the music industry through ‘Breaking the Cycle’, giving them the chance to create music on a professional level. This was in addition to the work she was already doing with KBSK, a youth project founded by Adie in 2012, empowering Bodmin’s young people through dance and performance.
A little over three years later, Adie is still providing a voice for the young people of the local area. On a damp, blustery autumn morning, we caught up with her amongst the comfort of the beanbags and sofas of The Space, a brand new community centre set to bring huge benefits to Bodmin, and something Adie has been working towards for some time.
Funded by the Youth Investment Fund, The Space is a modern and vibrant place for KBSK members to work on arts projects, while providing a central location for young people and families in Bodmin to make new friends, develop their skills, seek support, and find a purpose. Here, they will receive support and guidance by a team of passionate, dedicated mentors, and be given the opportunity to grow as individuals. The aim of The Space is to extend ‘life-changing’ services and to help create an equal society for future generations.
With a £400,000 grant from the Youth Investment Fund, it was important for KBSK to work with the youth of Bodmin to establish what they needed from The Space, and how it would help to deliver much-needed services. Adie explained: “The young people we’ve been working with have had a huge input into the design, time-tabling and operational management of The Space. It needs to be youth-led - that’s been a vital element of the project. I was 15 when I started KBSK, so I wanted it to have a strong youth influence. As I get older, it needs to be steered by young people.”
Already, the impact The Space has had on the community has been felt far and wide. With activities taking place most evenings, including social dance classes, drama games and workshops, one-to-one support sessions, and rhythm and rhyme classes for toddlers, there really is something for every young person. In addition, the KBSK Academy nurtures individual talents to allow progression, and there are a group of youth leaders who are working with Adie and her team on their own leadership journeys. KBSK’s own Youth Board works alongside the board of directors to oversee the running of The Space, and they are encouraged to organise their own events throughout the year.
Adie, who began her leadership journey as a teenager, wants The Space to be a place to nurture young people’s talents and to shape their futures, teaching them that they too can make a positive difference in their hometown.
She said: “I’m incredibly passionate about offering this to Bodmin’s young people. It’s so important to actively listen and that’s what we do very well. We provide what’s being asked of us in the community.
“Many of the original members of KBSK have felt inspired to see a young person leading them. One girl in particular started her own arts and crafts business at 14, and now she’s 17 and hires The Space to lead workshops. I’m honoured to have been a part of her journey - it’s come full circle! There have been so many success stories to come out of KBSK.”
The next step for Adie and The Space is to ensure the project remains sustainable, and to garner continued support from the community.
“I’m not going to be naive of the fact it’s a huge responsibility; the focus is on keeping the doors open,” Adie continued. “Financially, we need to rely on donations and funding. Shutting the doors is not a solution for me, so we will continue the hard work we have been doing over the last 12 years.
“Donations are always greatly appreciated, but we understand that there is a cost-of-living crisis and the pressures surrounding that, so sharing our news is another way people can support us. It would also be great to see Bodmin support us on our mission to share positive news coming from our young people. That is definitely something I would like to see more of.”
In addition to her work with KBSK and The Space, Adie is also involved in the community health and wellbeing workers programme, led by the NHS, Volunteer Cornwall and Bodmin Way. The volunteers go into the community to offer support and signpost people to helpful organisations. She is also dedicated to providing food parcels at every activity, ensuring every young person has access to food.
For more information and updates about The Space, like their Facebook and Instagram pages, or go to https://www.kbsk.co.uk/
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