OUTREACH is the Army Cadet Force’s Youth and Community Project and over 7,000 young people have benefited from the project since it started in 1994. OUTREACH seeks to help crime vulnerable as well as socially and educationally disengaged boys and girls become responsible citizens by using team based adventurous and challenging activities to raise their self-esteem, build confidence, and broaden their perspective on what they can achieve with their lives. The typical age of the OUTREACH participants is between 12 and 14, although participants have been as young as 11 and as old as 18.

The project is delivered by volunteer adult and cadet members of the Army Cadet Force ( ACF ), and by adapting the ACF ’s progressive and structured programme of fun, challenging and adventurous activities to the needs of OUTREACH, we are building on a tried and tested foundation for the development of young people which has succeeded for almost 150 years. The project takes participants away from their normal environment and gives them a huge dose of positive activity, earned praise, self-belief and personal pride which we believe offers them an attractive alternative to the passing satisfaction or peer notoriety they might have gained earlier from poor behaviour in school or anti-social activity in their community.

The scheme is voluntary and the youngsters do not have to join the cadet forces, though many later do. Participants identified as crime vulnerable or socially or educationally disadvantaged are referred to OUTREACH projects by their schools, Youth Offending Teams (YOTs), Social Services, local community groups and local police. Typical referral issues are low or no self-esteem, low personal achievement, school or social exclusion, truancy, or challenging behavioural problems. Some participants are already subject to police warnings or may have committed serious criminal offences. All the youngsters voluntarily agree to participate in the OUTREACH project and can leave at anytime, but in reality, few choose to do so.

A well structured and disciplined activity programme is operated through a working partnership with the referring agencies, i.e. the schools, YOTs, police, ACF adult leaders and our own cadets acting as role models.  Using experienced cadets gives the vulnerable youngsters a rare glimpse of the positive benefits gained by children of their own age group.  This also provides unique leadership training for the ACF ’s own cadets and adult instructors. We use existing ACF and MoD training facilities, equipment.

Organisations wishing to know more about OUTREACH can do so by emailing webmaster@yorkshirearmycadets.co.uk.