evening from 4pm to 8pm, starting from the 24th September 2012. V-Project offers young people a safe place to come and discuss any problems or concerns that they are facing in their lives with trained peer mentors – young people from the area who are also in their late teens and early 20s. The project is part of the Southwick-based As You Are Centre, a charity that provides counselling and support for people living with depression, stress and anxiety. It is funded by donations and grants, and has so far raised around £3,500. V-Project’s organisers believe that it offers a unique service for Lewes, since it gives young people a non-judgemental, sympathetic and informal environment where they can air issues with mentors to whom they can immediately relate. V-Project organiser and peer mentor, Andreas Long, said: “What makes us different and relevant to local young people, is that our peer mentors are all from the area, we have gone to the same schools and colleges, and we know the issues they are facing.
“We know that sometimes you can’t speak to your friends, your family or teachers, and you don’t want to go to another adult. So we provide a real alternative for young people who need someone to talk to, to work things through.”
The project expects to deal with a range of youth issues, from alcohol and drug problems, to school pressures, such as bullying. The 12 trained peer mentors will not offer advice, but will provide an outlet for young people to talk, and will provide information and help to get professional support, where necessary. The As You Are Centre’s experienced, extensively-trained counsellors will be on hand to support the peer mentors, and can give low-cost one-to-one sessions with the young people who want more structured counselling. V-Project was conceived by friends of a Lewes teenager, Vadim Yastrzhembsky, who died of an accidental methadone overdose on 7 June 2012, aged 19. Brook Thomas said: “Our best friend experimented with drugs and took methadone, thinking it was something else. He collapsed and went into a coma from which he never recovered. We set up V-Project in his memory, to give the young people of Lewes a safe place to come and talk. If we can help other people to avoid Vadim’s mistakes, then we will have honoured his memory.”
Contacts
Anna Eraut: 07828013844; [email protected]
Andreas Long (project manager): 07824453212; [email protected]
George Briley (vice project manger & PR manger): 07985587361; [email protected]
Morgan Grant (project coordinator): 07538840328; [email protected]
Notes:
1.The Zu Studio space is at 7 Phoenix Place, Phoenix Industrial Estate, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2QJ; http://www.zustudios.moonfruit.com/. As well as offering space for peer mentoring sessions, it allows V-Project to offer art workshops, film showings in the cinema room and a range of other activities. Zu Studios will organise an event on the 25th August (http://www.zustudios.moonfruit.com/#/events/4558414624), where V-Project team will be given space to play music, distribute leaflets and make presentations about our plans. Everyone is welcome to attend.
2.The As You Are Centre is based in Southwick at 45 Southwick Street, Southwick, BN42 4TH, http://asyouarecentre.co.uk/. V-Project is a part of As You Are. As You Are administers V-Project’s funds, helps to organise training for the team, and gives various support to the project.
3.Online donations can be made http://asyouarecentre.co.uk/get-involved/make-a-donation/vadim-memorial-fund/ or in cheques/cash to the team. How The V Project Began
by George Briley
On the 7 June 2012, my friend Vadim Yastrzhembsky passed away at around 10pm. He died after taking an excessive amount of methadone, which had been sold to him as morphine. These are the facts of how Vadim died, but they in no way define his personality or his legacy. Vadim was an extraordinary person. In a conversation with him you could cover and deconstruct every religion under the sun and then skip on to being able to control lightning from the sky. He taught me so much and I miss him more than I can possibly describe. He had so much to offer this world; tragically, he can’t now fulfil his amazing potential. Grief can go one of two ways: we can be self-destructive and selfish and forget about the rest of our lives; or move forward from grief, do something brilliant in the name of our lost loved one and try to create a legacy in his name that will mean something. This is where the V-Project originates: our project was born of grief, but is growing on love and from our desire to do something that our friend will be proud of, and if Vadim’s legacy can help people, then his memory will always live on. For donations to support our cause please visit:
http://asyouarecentre.co.uk/get-involved/make-a-donation/vadim-memorial-fund/
