Digartref Ynys Môn visits the Senedd
Published 21/03/2014   |   Last Updated 21/03/2014
The North Wales Outreach team have recently been working with Digartref Ynys Môn on a series of workshops to be presented to a group of young service users on the work of the National Assembly for Wales and the importance of voting. These workshops were arranged alongside a visit to Cardiff Bay.
On Wednesday 12 March 2014 the group from Digartref Ynys Môn visited Tŷ Hywel and the Senedd in Cardiff Bay to learn more about the work of the National Assembly for Wales and the role of their Assembly Members.
On arrival the group met with members of the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee to discuss current housing issues following the consultation into the proposed Housing (Wales) Bill.
Mark Isherwood AM, Assembly Member for the North Wales region said, “We must break down the barriers between people who are homeless, threatened with homelessness or affected by homeless issues. I enjoyed having lunch with the young people from Digartref Ynys Môn who came to visit us at the National Assembly. Only by listening to them and learning from their experiences can we begin to tackle together the causes and consequences of the problems they have encountered. As a North Wales Assembly Member, I would be pleased to return the visit.”
The Constituency Member for Cardiff Central Jenny Rathbone AM, also a Member of the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee said: “I was grateful that these young people came all the way from Ynys Môn to talk to us. I was interested to hear about their current and future training plans and their career aspirations. Digartref Ynys Môn is doing a fantastic job supporting them and giving them hope through difficult times.”
The meeting was then followed by a visit to the Education suite in Tŷ Hywel, accompanied by an Education Officer, to hold a debate on banning smoking in public places. The group reached the decision to not ban smoking in public places for reasons such as loss of money to businesses on high streets.
The group then went on to the Senedd where they met their Constituency Assembly Member, Rhun Ap Iorwerth AM.
Following the visit Kirsty Akrill, Community Voice Worker for Digartref Ynys Môn said,
“The group had a fantastic time during the Senedd visit. It really helped having some understanding of how the system works before the visit and the workshops delivered by the outreach team were great. All the Assembly Members we met were so approachable and listened to opinions and experiences the young people had. Confidence in this area has grown and I feel it will make it easier for them to have a say on what matters to them.”
If you would like some more information about workshops in your area please email us at: outreachteam@wales.gov.uk