This list is doesn’t cover everything, but some of the barriers are:
– Services lacking understanding of the effects of racism, discrimination and microaggressions on young people

– Not feeling welcome or represented e.g. not seeing anyone who reflects their ethnicity in the service staff

– Language

– Professionals not having an understanding of different cultures

– Not knowing support is there (e.g. because the support doesn’t reach out to their communities)

– Adultification (a form of bias where children from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities are perceived as being more ‘streetwise’, more ‘grown up’, less innocent and less vulnerable than other children and might be viewed primarily as a threat rather than as a child who needs support (Davis 2022; Davis and Marsh, 2020; Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, 2019). From NSPCC Learning)

– Reports of discrimination not being handled appropriately

– Not trusting services based on past experiences or experiences of others

– Increased racial representation on our trustee board.

– Audited staff to better understand their background, enabling us to identify specific areas where we need to improve diversity, accessibility and support.

– Surveyed young people to understand their barriers to accessing our services, and acted on results, like introducing a detached youth work team so that we can reach out directly to young people who may not reach out to us.

– Reviewed our services with a focus on accessibility, to identify where we could make improvements and remove barriers.

– Consulted with our staff about our approach to supporting Black and Brown young people, as well as wider diversity commitments and improvements.

– Taken steps to improve the process of voicing concerns for staff and volunteers, so they have routes to raise issues around discrimination where they feel their concerns will be taken seriously.

– Improved accessibility of our website, including making common languages spoken in our area available for translation.

We also have a group of staff from across No Limits, our Racial Justice Action Group (RJAG), who are leading on our anti-racism work. The group meets regularly to discuss how we can become more inclusive in all areas. Highlights of what RJAG have been up to include:

– A report of recommendations which was sent to our senior staff as a guide to how the internal culture of No Limits can be changed so we can become a better place to work for Black and Brown staff.

– Training for our staff around cultural awareness, equity, diversity and inclusion, so we can better recognise, understand and support with some of the issues that might face young people. This is in early stages of development.

Give Better Support
We know that Black and Brown young people are disadvantaged, for example, because of their race or because of their surname, and they may be treated differently when doing things like going for jobs, accessing housing, getting support from services. We need to put ourselves in a position where we can advocate for them and are able to properly support people with issues like these.

We also want to be able to give support that is tailored to the beliefs that the young peoples’ communities have, as well as providing better provision for those who need it, like halal foods, more suitable hair and skin products.

Be a Safe Space
We want all of No Limits’ places and services to be a safe space for all young people, regardless of their ethnicity.

Have a Diverse Staff Group
One way Black and Brown young people can feel more able to access our support is if we have a diverse staff group, where they feel represented. We’ve undertaken an audit to know what diversity looks like for us and we’re improving our approach to diversity in recruitment e.g. improving the wording in job adverts.

Connect Better
We want No Limits to be a diverse place so we can connect better to young people who come from under-served communities, meaning they are able to access the support they need.

Make Anti-Racism a Priority
We’re making sure that anti-racism is a priority. It’s in our new strategy as a key principle, and we’re working hard to increase resources and focus in this area.