This three-year project, which started in August 2003, brought arts based acitivites to formerly homeless people and provided them with a safe, informal setting to promote interaction, peer support, confidence raising and capacity building.

The project combined outreach sessions at community and day centres around Leicester (eg through the YMCA) and on-going drop-in sessions several times a week at the Soft Touch building. Many of the participants moved on to paid and voluntary work and further education, eg the New Deal for Musicians scheme."Before I started coming here I would spend ages in my flat playing with the computer not doing much but this has got me actually doing something".

The project was commissioned by Leicester City Council Housing and Commissioning Department.

Pupils at risk of exclusion attending William Bradford College in Earl Shilton did an alternative education programme with Soft Touch which focused on photography. The group put together an exhibition after learning digital photography and Photoshop software.

In evaluating the effectiveness of the programme, the College’s principal admitted that he had been pleasantly surprised as this was a very difficult group of students to engage. He noted that bullying was reduced, attendance went up, none of the students were excluded and all sat their GCSE exams. In addition one student’s self harming behaviour was reduced and "the low self-esteem that made the students vulnerable to substance abuse, drinking and risky sexual behaviour has been successfully countered".

The project was commissioned by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council arts development service and was carried out during 2002.

BEN CLARKE YOUNG PERSON OF THE YEAR 2010

Ben has been voted young person of the year at the Lord Lieutenant’s Award.  This follows his success as a major national award winner for his artwork in last years Koestler Awards and the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Young Brits @ Art Competition.  Ben started attending Soft Touch two years ago through our young offenders programme and has now progressed to becoming a volunteer and peer mentor on our UrbanXpress and MASH-UP creative arts and music programmes.