The Vibe charity and project in Rochdale has sadly come to the end of its time. Writing this post feels akin to writing an obituary. Issues around availability of premises, securing continued funding and the age of founding members, mean that it is time to close at the end of this year. Vibe has truly been an incredible success and has benefitted many young people in terms of wellbeing, resilience and skills.

Vibe has been part of my life since 2015 when I first became involved as a freelance writer in the Stories We Can Tell project. Our work at Vibe has always been led by the young people who are supported to use creativity but never pressured. People do well in a supportive and encouraging atmosphere, and at Vibe they can be themselves while joining in with all kinds of creative activity.

At Vibe I’ve been able to work with young people writing anything from novella length stories to poetry and lyrics, and help with art, photography, woodwork and even guitar building. Vibe also gave me the opportunity to work alongside creative practitioners from other fields, like music, photography, craft, art and film-making, sharing ideas and skills. The team at Vibe always support each other and we consider ourselves as friends, not just colleagues.

Although it is sad to be saying goodbye to this amazing project this will not really be the end as the skills we’ve all been developing will no doubt be used with others in the future and friendships will endure.