.
The Teal Umbrella Project was created by a group of passionate young people who took part in our Inspiring Change project, sponsored by PAC (the Peer Action Collective). The project brought young people together over several months to create and develop a social action campaign on a topic which was close to their hearts and they felt passionate about.
One of those groups created the Teal Umbrella project – aimed at educating people on the prevalence of sexual violence in Portsmouth and Southampton, and where they could turn to for support and advice. One of the young people in the action group was 17 year old Ace Merriott, one of the inspiring young changemakers we’ve had the pleasure to work with over the past year. Ace tells their story:
.
Ace’s experience:
.
“Hi I’m Ace and I’m a 17 year old student from Portsmouth. Last April I had an Instagram Advert pop up on my screen with the title “Do you want to tackle youth violence in your community?” I’m going to be totally honest and tell you that I was entirely bored at the time (despite being about to start my GCSEs) and just figured I’d give it a chance. I signed up and not long later got told I had received a place and to come along to the residential at the end of the month.
For me, I’d done nothing like this before and this would be the first event where I knew no one else. This was frankly terrifying, and slightly off-putting – but I’m so glad I gave it a go!
Before Unloc I’d always tried to make a conscious attempt to volunteer in my local community. As a Young leader with Beavers & Squirrels (World Scout Association), I knew I enjoyed helping other people and in my local community, I’ve seen a lot of Youth Violence. Growing up Queer, Trans and Disabled in Portsmouth has often put me at the receiving end of a lot of hate, and growing up AFAB (assigned female at birth for those not in the know) has put me on the same end of Sexual Violence too. This is why our project ‘The Teal Umbrella’ was centred around Sexual Violence in Southampton and Portsmouth – we all as a group shared one common experience in our communities.
.
.
So what is the Teal Umbrella Project? The Teal Umbrella Project is a social media campaign centred on providing support and resources for those who are victims of COCSA (Child on child/ Peer on Peer Sexual Assault). As a group it was vital to let the world know that it isn’t a taboo subject, so that hopefully more young people would open up and maybe even report their experiences.
We started from the ground up, facilitated by Unloc, making our social media page and forming our initial first ideas. We knew what we wanted to tackle – but how could we do it? After lots of deliberation we decided to hold a professional photoshoot with other young people from the surrounding areas, people of any background or gender.
Something we really wanted to highlight was that it doesn’t just happen to one category of person – it can, and does, happen to anyone.
We applied for funding through the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) to support our idea and were luckily awarded the full amount we applied for – this was incredible! I took on the role of Finance Co-ordinator for the group – managing the money and controlling the budget. I also eventually grew into the role of Communications, and from that Project manager – a journey I feel really benefited my skill set.
.
.
We gathered friends from local communities and got them involved in the photoshoot in November – some of us got involved in it as well! The photographer was incredible at capturing the message we wanted to put across. The photos featured an actual teal umbrella, to fit back to our name, and also contained the common excuses that one may face after an assault. Some of these include “What were you wearing” and “I’m not that kind of person”. These excuses are commonly used and we wanted to bring to head how excuses are never appropriate. After this photoshoot we started the bulk of posting on our social media. Our instagram is @the_tealumbrella
The Teal umbrella got its name from two things. The colour Teal is the colour ribbon for Sexual Assault Awareness, and the umbrella symbolises the ‘umbrella terms’ that come under Sexual Assault. These include catcalling, harrassment, underskirting and many other violent and non-violent forms of sexual abuse.
.
.
After the intial start to posting, we were contacted by several stakeholders about the project, wanting to speak to us and get involved where they could. Holding calls with all sorts of important professionals was terrifying, we’d never done anything like that before – but it was really rewarding to hear from adults who believed like us that young people can make a change.
In December, I attended the PAC (Peer action Collective) Crime Conference, which was attended by Young People from all over the country who had been completing their own social action projects/changes in their local communities. I represented the Teal Umbrella Project and had a great time telling others at the event about what we did. We also featured in a Spotlight in their review booklet. At this conference, I received the Networking Extraordinaire Award for my communication skills throughout the year. It was totally unexpected. This is something that even today I am still in awe of as compared to a year ago, I was absolutely terrified of talking to people – let alone industry professionals.
.
.
I also was able to put the project back into my Scouting experience. It has contributed to my King Scout Award – one of the highest awards in Scouting!
Moving into January we received amazing news that YEF wanted to support our project further and came to us offering more funding to get one of our posters put onto two billboards, one in Portsmouth and another one in Southampton. Hearing once again that people really wanted to support us and believed in what we were doing was amazing, and I still love how welcoming society is becoming to the new generation of changemakers like myself. We planned once more and in early summer got billboards up in highly trafficked areas – an incredible achievement for something that started as a very small social media campaign.
.
message but also won them the Billboard Campaign of the Month award!
.
We got noticed by the South East Billboard company and received Billboard Campaign of the Month too! Gaining traction for the cause is so important as the rates of Sexual Violence in Portsmouth and Southampton are scarily high. I hope that this project gets the opportunities to grow and flourish and help more people.
I think the moment I realised how beneficial the campaign was, was when I presented it to a group of other Scouts and Leaders, and the feedback I got back was incredible, and it really hit me then what good something small can do.
.
.
Unloc supported us the entire way through, and I would not be the person I am today without our wonderful facilitators, Katie and Jess. They helped us where need be, and organised the whole idea of Young People making change!
The person I was last year is very different to the person I am now though. Unloc gave me the skills to grow and develop as a Young Adult, while also letting me have fun and make new friends.
Moving forward, I have taken this newfound courage to join other projects such as Youth Advisory Boards and becoming a volunteer with Hampshire Youth Parliament. In Scouting I’m making new moves too; I’ve joined both a UK wide team and County (Hampshire) team to help develop my local and national scouting communities and make them overall more inclusive and accessible.
.
.
I hope to continue working with, and for Young People and hopefully engage them in experiences that I couldn’t access until later in my Teen years. Recently, I helped lead a group of Scouts in the Portsmouth Pride Parade, and soon to London Pride!
I do hope to continue making changes in my community, and helping others. The confidence and abilities I gained this past year are like no other, and I know how much they will benefit me going into the future. “
Ace Merriott, 17
Changemaker and Networking Extraordinaire Award Winner
