Who We Are
The Gap was established in 2008 with the intention of engaging with and investing in the lives of hard-to-reach or marginalised young people in Sutton Coldfield town centre and its immediate surrounding areas.
The charity changed its name in September 2023 from The Gap (Sutton Coldfield) to The Gap (Midlands) to reflect the wider area it is now operates within. Although Sutton Coldfield is always its priority.
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We look to step into The Gap between exclusion and acceptance, between condemnation and understanding, between apathy and hope. We seek to demonstrate by what we do, that actions really do speak louder than words.
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We are committed to creating and improving opportunities for the more excluded and marginalised young people from ages 12-18 by assisting them in developing their skills, capabilities and realising their full potential irrespective of their gender, race, circumstances or situations. Through intentional listening, mentoring and caring, we endeavour to help them grow into positive citizens where they can gradually take their place in society as responsible adults.
It has always been the ethos of The Gap to meet young people where they are and our first step in doing that is to build trust and relationships, engaging with them on their terms and in non-threatening or judgmental environments.
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We do all of this through our free of charge drop-in centre, called The Venue, our street youth work "Out There" as well as within schools through the HeadSpace project, our well-being, one-to-one mentoring support programme.