Unemployed young people help elderly residents clean up Whitehouse Allotments

A team of fifteen unemployed young people from Leicester have been helping local elderly residents with plots at the Whitehouse Allotments on Stenson Road, with help from TNG, a national welfare to work training organisation.

The young people are taking part in Community Task Force (CTF), a government programme aimed at helping unemployed young people, aged 18-24, to gain practical work experience and stay close to the jobs market.

One person on the placement is Daniel Johnson, 21. He had previous experience as a gardener but had been unemployed since being made redundant and was desperate to get back to work. He was referred to TNG in London Road, Leicester, to gain practical work experience and new skills while searching for work, where his TNG Placement Officer, Carol Gamble, found him a placement at Whitehouse Allotments.

The allotment has over 90 plots, many of which are owned by elderly people who have been unable to keep their plots clear of weeds. Daniel and the others on the CTF programme are not only clearing all weeds from the allotments and preparing the land to allow vegetables to be grown, but are also building benches to make the allotments a pleasant place to be and to encourage more people to take on plots.

The CTF volunteers also cleared the hazelwood coppice, where wood for the allotment’s gardening canes is produced. The coppice, part of the allotment, was created in 2008 with a grant from Severn Trent Water and the Ken Chamberlain Trust. As well as providing a sustainable source of cane for the allotment regulars, the coppice also provides a home for several animals, including the rare stag beetle, which is a protected species in the UK.

As more plots become usable, the sense of community is growing stronger, and some of the excess produce from the allotments is donated to pensioners resident nearby.

Daniel has enjoyed the work placement so much, he has taken on his own plot. He said, "I used to work with my granddad in his gardening business. When he retired, I couldn’t take over the business as I couldn’t drive, and so I was made redundant.

"I would love to start my own home and garden maintenance business, but it’s impossible while I can’t drive. I can’t afford to pay for lessons, as with two young children and one on the way, we don’t have much spare money. This has given me some great experience, and I have loved working as part of a team and seen the benefit of our hard work. Clearing the allotments has made me more determined than ever to find work, so I can save up and eventually start my own business."

Carol Gamble, Placement Officer, at TNG said, "Being unemployed can really sap your confidence, and placements like this not only give something back to the community, but provide young people looking for work with new skills and helps them to establish a work-like routine. When they see what they have achieved, they have a real sense of pride and renewed determination to find work."

John Dooher, Chairman of the Whitehouse Allotment Garden Society commented, "These young men, through TNG, have provided us with a really valuable service. They have helped clear plots that many of our plot owners would not have been able to do alone, and with the benches have made the allotments a far more pleasant place to come and spend some time, meet friends and grow produce."