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SNAP
operates from The Hat Factory in Luton town centre and is managed by Luton
Community Arts Trust. The project's are led by Youth
& Community Worker's, with a specialism in
substance misuse issues, and a
professional photographer . The project provides,
free of charge, art's activities for the unemployed and vulnerable young
people.
SNAP is also a pro-active signposting service for participant's enquiry's
in relation to benefits, health, education, training and employment opportunities.
The SNAP
philosophy focuses on equal opportunities, empowerment, education and
participation and shares similarities with the educational work of radical
Brazilian,
Paulo Freire. Young people are actively encouraged to tap into their
creative potential by using a research process which utilises, through
discussion, the wordstorming of ideas and the sharing of life experiences.
Individuals draw concepts for the final image and then become involved
in set design, set construction, make-up and modeling. The project facilitated
Voice & Word's Workshop's; in addition to young people creating storyboard's
and the participants taking photographs on location, they learned how
participation developed individual self esteem, confidence and communication
skills through group work experience. Moreover, the themed project work
has also enabled young people to produce excellent images which depict
community issues and have since been shown at exhibitions, conferences
and events where participants are encouraged to run workshops and make
presentations.
SNAP is currently
developing a Drop-In.
Over the last three
years SNAP has gradually secured funding from The National Lottery,
Luton Community Chest, Single Regeneration Budget/The Luton & Dunstable
Partnership and Luton Health ActionZone.
As a result we are supported by a multi-agency group which involves representatives
from the following statutory and non-statutory bodies:
The University of Luton, Luton Borough Council Arts Officer,
The Educational Behavior Unit, Luton Drug & Alcohol Partnership
and Safer Luton Partnership.
The Social
Needs Awareness Project was evaluated by the
University of Luton's Applied Social Sciences senior lecturer
and researcher David Porteous.
The findings have
since been published in
"Young People, Drugs & Community Safety"
(Marlow, A. & Pearson, G. 1999 Lyme Regis: Russell House.)

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