Creating an Under 16's Support Circle

TheMix

Hey everyone!

In the group chat break thread, we mentioned running a workshop to get your help in building an Under 16's Support Circle. We didn't quite get around to organising this for break week, but we still want to run it.

What's the idea?

We want to create a space primarily for Under 16's. Some work we've done in the past has shown us that Support Circle is a particularly useful format for that age group, so we're going to use that framework and create an Under 16's Support Circle.

What do you need me to do?

We need the help of people under 16 to create this space.

We want to know how we can tailor the Support Circle environment specifically to that age group, and what might need to be different to usual Support Circles. Those differences might be to do with how the space is moderated, the structure and timings, when they're scheduled, or whatever else you can think of that could make the session work more for our younger members.

We're hoping to run a workshop chat to hear your ideas and see what we can come up with.

If you're under 16 and you would like to feed into this project, let us know and send us a PM with your general availability

Thanks folks, and feel free to ask any questions below.

Mike & the team

Former Member

I was going to comment my thoughts but as an under 16 who's never used chat and gets told how mature she is and whose age doesn't really play a factor in her preferences, I don't think I could give you very helpful feedback. Sorry

Millie2787

Just a general question would this be run weekly like normal support circle is and if it is does that mean that those under 16 would potentially be getting 2 of those sessions a week if there signing up for normal support circle to or would it be a case off they went to one or the other if it’s weekly ?

Former Member

Would there ever be a case of over 16s having a support circle too?.. 

TheMix

Kathleen07 said:

I was going to comment my thoughts but as an under 16 who's never used chat and gets told how mature she is and whose age doesn't really play a factor in her preferences, I don't think I could give you very helpful feedback. Sorry

Those thoughts could be very useful to us @Past User! Please do share if you want to.

Millie2787 said:

Just a general question would this be run weekly like normal support circle is and if it is does that mean that those under 16 would potentially be getting 2 of those sessions a week if there signing up for normal support circle to or would it be a case off they went to one or the other if it’s weekly ?

That's to be decided, @Millie2787. If we did end up having them weekly, it might make sense for us to separate those age groups and limit people to one per week. That said, it's quite unlikely they'll be that often - there's a good chance we'll have a couple a month or something like that. We'll cross those bridges when we have feedback to base our decisions on.

GreenTea said:

Would there ever be a case of over 16s having a support circle too?.. 

Probably not in the forseeable future, @GreenTea. The current weekly Support Circles will continue to be open to over 16's and mostly taken up by members of that age group, and if we run Under 16's sessions you'll probably find the main ones quieten down a bit.

One of the motivations for us doing this is to help people at the youngest end of our community integrate a bit more and have spaces that work for them. As you'll know, the community was initially setup for 16-25's, and now we've opened that up to 13-25s, we're keen to actively try and do things that help accommodate younger folks.

Mike & the team

Former Member

Forget I said anything. my opinion doesn't matter here.

Former Member

The best time for me for it to be run would probably be 7:00-8:30pm.

I'd like it moderated in a calm sort of way. I don't want a mod who just goes on and on about the guidelines or who's blunt and unfriendly, I also don't want a mod who would let arguments unfold or is patronising. But a mod who's kind, non-judgmental, and keeps the space safe while also giving off a relaxed vibe would be perfect for me. I don't mind how many mods there are.

Um... Can't really think of anything else! But if you want to ask any questions or need feedback on anything in particular, I'd love to help if I can

By the way - if we're gonna have an under 16's support circle, it makes more sense to me if you make the ordinary one an over 16's one. Or is it already meant for over 16's?

Dancer

I think that having an under 16's support circle is a great idea. This is because there have been quite a few occasions where spaces for support have been full and mainly by the older ones which means the younger ones have to go to the busier support chat or go without support which is not fair. 

This is my availability:

Tomorrow: Evening
Monday: Evening
Tuesday: Morning or evening
Wednesday: Evening 
Thursday: All day
Friday: N/A
Saturday: All day
Sunday: Evening 

Dancer

I think the moderating is fine. 

Timing: 7:30pm-9:30pm so more under 16's can get support 

Day of the week: Thursday 

Structure: 6 support places (15 minutes each+15 minutes opening round+15 minutes closing round) and 4 additional listener places.

Millie2787

Kasa2103 said:

I think the moderating is fine. 

Timing: 7:30pm-9:30pm so more under 16's can get support 

Day of the week: Thursday 

Structure: 6 support places (15 minutes each+15 minutes opening round+15 minutes closing round) and 4 additional listener places.

Personally I think the timings should stay the same as the normal Support circle ( as in length wise it would Be okay to move those times earlier if that is what is needed for young age range ) otherwise this could Be unfair that the younger age group have longer than the normal support circle.

Dancer

Millie2787 said:

Kasa2103 said:

I think the moderating is fine. 

Timing: 7:30pm-9:30pm so more under 16's can get support 

Day of the week: Thursday 

Structure: 6 support places (15 minutes each+15 minutes opening round+15 minutes closing round) and 4 additional listener places.

Personally I think the timings should stay the same as the normal Support circle ( as in length wise it would Be okay to move those times earlier if that is what is needed for young age range ) otherwise this could Be unfair that the younger age group have longer than the normal support circle.

I understand what you are saying about the timing. It was just an idea. I like your idea about moving the times earlier though if that is what fits around the younger users. 

independent_

I’m over 16 (well yeah 16 lol) but joined this community back when I was 13 so will post my feedback here in reflection of what would have helped me back then.

I think this is a fantastic idea. When I was younger I was always worried that I would be judged for my age due to beind the youngest around in chat. I feel like a space like this would help younger people to feel more conmfortable using chat.

I don’t think there’ll ever be a time or day that suits everyone, I was always awake late at 13 so the normal timings always suited me but I understand that some young people go to bed earlier than this so perhaps a slightly earlier timing like 7.30-9pm or something like that (idk though). As for day, personally I was always busier at the weekend so back in the day when the under 16s support chats were a thing, I often couldn’t go on a Saturday because I was busy with family stuff. So perhaps a weekday such as a Monday or a Thursday would work better.

I think the structure of ordinary support circles would work well here too. I also think it requires a friendly but firm approach to moderation (similar to ordinary support chat). 

I think this is a fab idea though