Case Studies

County: Lambeth, London

Funding Theme: The Identify You Creative Programme (IYCP)

Amount Secured: £5,000

About the project

Trash Gxng received these funds to work on The Identify You Creative Programme (IYCP) project.

Over two months, the Identify You Creative Programme (IYCP) embarked on a transformative journey with 15 young people deemed to be in the NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) category. The aim was to boost their self-confidence, alleviate mental health challenges, and combat isolation through a series of creative workshops and career support.

Mission

The programme activities map each young person’s career journey with stages of a design lifecycle so that they can co-design their own lives.

The journey begins with the participants identifying their principles and the values they represent. They then delve into the world of design creation, exploring their authentic voice and what empowers them through streetwear clothing designs. The end of the project sees the young people pitching their ideas to an audience of working professionals, with the winning design being manufactured. This tangible outcome, a physical piece of clothing, serves as evidence of their journey and the skills they have acquired.

The overarching goal is to break social isolation barriers for under represented young people in a heavily digital world and connect them to real working opportunities.

Increasingly those without the skills, access, or support to be online regularly are being left behind.  Digital exclusion often accompanies and exacerbates other forms of social exclusion and disadvantage, including age, race and class discrimination, with 90% of those people deemed to be ‘offline’ adversely affected from social or economic disadvantages.  Those less connected to the digital world are more likely to have poorer health, education and employment outcomes.

Participants of IYCP will develop essential soft skills for securing long-term employment and acquiring knowledge to build sustainable careers. They will demonstrate an increased ability to apply for jobs, improved interview skills, and enhanced communication in professional settings, supported by a concrete actionable career plan post-programme

“In a previous cohort, 80% of the young people were in training or employment and one participant who was unemployed for two years was in work after two weeks of the end of the programme” Tayo Adesina, Founder & CEO of Trash Gxng.

Looking Ahead

By the end of the programme, participants will have a physical item of clothing that they have co-designed and an action plan for their next career steps. Over the following six weeks, participants will take action according to the plan. They will write a CV, practice networking, and identify career goals. All participants will then have the opportunity to apply their new work skills through the Ambassador programme, a volunteering role to facilitate the creative programme alongside their peers and educate the next cohort of young people.

Looking to the future, Tayo wants to develop the project as a social enterprise with a sustainable business model. This ensures that the streetwear clothing sold on the website can reinvest the profits directly back into running future workshops for more young people. The long-term aspiration is to have a purpose-built retail store that will combine empowerment and free education for young people with co-created clothing, combining tangible evidence for each young person to see their creative work sold in stores.  

Social Value

The Identify You Creative Programme (IYCP) is more than just a short-term intervention—it is a catalyst for lasting economic and social change. By equipping young people with practical, creative, and professional skills, the programme:

• Reduces long-term unemployment and welfare dependency
• Strengthens community networks through mentorship and role models
• Enhances economic inclusion for underrepresented youth
• Develops a self-sustaining social enterprise model for future impact

Through these long-term economic and social benefits, the programme demonstrates that  investment in young people leads to improvements in community resilience.  Improving these outcomes for young people statistically reduces NHS spending, DWP reliance and creates taxation developing a stronger, more inclusive economy.

About LHC Community Benefit Fund

In each region, LHC members who attend committee or board meetings have an allocation from the Community Benefit fund which can be used to fund local social impact projects. Further, an independent community benefit agency is also appointed to work with the members to find a local charity partner. LHC works closely with the specialist community support network ‘Locality’.

For more information on Locality and their work, visit: www.locality.org.uk