Citizen Youth panel
Youth Panel Update: Shaping Citizen Together
A huge thank you to all of our Youth Panel members who continue to share their ideas, experiences and feedback. Your voices are helping to shape services, influence important business decisions and make a real difference to communities across Citizen.
As we move through the final months of 2026, we wanted to share what we've achieved so far and what's coming next.
🎯 Influencing Real Change
One of the key aims of the Youth Panel is to ensure young customers have a voice in major Citizen projects and service developments. Throughout 2026, panel members have helped us understand the views of younger customers and have contributed valuable insight into key areas of our work.
❄️ Winter Campaign Focus Group
In September, Youth Panel members joined our Winter Campaign Focus Group alongside other engaged customers. The session explored campaign materials, key winter advice, preferred communication channels and barriers that younger customers may face during the winter months.
Your feedback has already helped us:
- Improve the relevance of winter communications.
- Make campaign materials more accessible.
- Identify better ways to communicate with younger customers.
- Shape future social media and digital content.
Most importantly, the session demonstrated the impact that young people's voices can have on live business projects.
What's Coming Next?
💻 October: My Account Project Workshop
Working alongside the Digital and Customer Experience teams, panel members will help shape the future of Citizen's online services through the My Account Project Workshop.
This is an opportunity to directly influence services used by thousands of customers.
🗣️ October: Competency and Conduct Standard Focus Group
We will also be working with Customer Experience and Operational teams to understand what code of conduct standards looks like from a young person's perspective. Feedback from Youth Panel members will help shape future service standards across Citizen.
🌳 October: Tidy Friday
Youth Panel members will have the opportunity to support a local Tidy Friday event, working alongside colleagues and customers to improve local neighbourhoods and community spaces.
This is a great chance to make a visible difference in the community while meeting other engaged customers and Citizen colleagues.
🔍 October to December: Customer Scrutiny Involvement
We are exploring opportunities for Youth Panel members to become involved with the Customer Scrutiny Panel. This will provide insight into how scrutiny, governance and decision-making processes work within Citizen and allow members to contribute their own views and recommendations.
🚶 December: "Day in the Life" Experience
We're looking to introduce a behind-the-scenes experience where members can join Citizen colleagues on a community engagement project or visit a project funded through the Citizen Local Fund.
Potential activities include:
- Visiting community projects.
- Meeting local organisations and project leaders.
- Learning how community funding creates impact.
- Capturing stories and feedback from participants.
- Producing a Youth Perspective report.
🌟 December: Youth Panel Review and Planning Session
To finish the year, we'll bring panel members together to celebrate achievements, reflect on the year and help shape the future of the Youth Panel.
Together we'll:
- Review successes from 2026.
- Discuss lessons learned.
- Identify priorities for 2027.
- Explore future topics and projects.
- Generate ideas to attract new Youth Panel members.
Looking Ahead
By the end of 2026, we are aiming to achieve:
✅ Four major focus groups delivered.
✅ Youth Panel involvement in a Tidy Friday community event.
✅ Youth representation within Customer Scrutiny activity.
✅ A completed Day in the Life engagement experience.
✅ A co-produced Youth Panel vision and priorities plan for 2027.
Thank You
Everything we do is stronger when customers are involved, and our Youth Panel continues to bring fresh perspectives, challenge our thinking and help us develop better services.
We're excited about what the rest of 2026 has in store and look forward to continuing to work with you to make a positive difference across Citizen.
Together, we're building services, communities and opportunities that work for young people and future generations. 💙
-
Hillz FM- Young Hillz
We take each young person on an individual journey using the radio as a tool to gain skills and make differences within their lives. This project will coach, inspire, build confidence and self-esteem, which will raise young people’s aspirations, giving them simple tools to encourage self-worth and awareness in their own abilities.
Drop in sessions for Young Hillz are every Wednesday and Thursday evening from 3.30pm until 5:30pm.
Wednesday sessions – Open-access with games, arts & crafts and computer use.
Thursday sessions – An introduction to radio broadcasting
We are based at WATCH Community Centre, 12 Victoria Street, Hillfields, Coventry, CV1 5LZ.
Keep up to date with us by checking our latest news and following us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
For more information or if you would like to get involved then give us a call on 02476 550564.
Click here to find out more- Hillz FM
-
Vanny Radio- Youth Programs
Vanny Radio focuses on the youth development and community involvement. We encourage the youth and unemployed to get involved in community passively and get more connection in society. We provide quality sound, PA equipment young energetic DJs for community events in Coventry and surroundings areas where young people take the centre stage. We have rich experience in community events and cooperate with different organizers, like Coventry City Council, Coventry University and the Highlife Centre and other organisations to organize successful events. (See our histories).
If you are organization and want to cooperate with us, please contact us at vannyradio12@gmail.com. -
Cheylesmore Food Hub
Working in partnership with Fareshare, Coventry City Council, volunteers from the local area and generous funding and support from Severn Trent, we provide a weekly food bag for just £5 to residents of Cheylesmore, Whitley, Stonehouse Estate and Earlsdon.
-
Holbrooks Community Centre- Social Supermarket
Click here to find out more- Holbrooks social Supermarket
Our Social Supermarket, held at Holbrooks Community Centre supports those who need a little bit of extra help and are on the following benefits with buying food and home items.
Qualifying Benefits are:
- Universal Credit
- Child Tax Credits
- Working Tax Credit
- Pension Credit
- Jobseekers Allowance
- Housing Benefit
- ESA
We're open Mondays (Closed on bank holidays) between 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm at Holbrooks Community Centre John Shelton Drive, CV6 4PE. Once your membership has been processed you will get an allocated time slot for you to collect your groceries.
Unfortunately we are currently at capacity and cannot take on any new memberships, but you can still access food from us via the Household Support Fund, where you will get 3 free food packages, and after you will get 3 social supermarket visits where you will need to pay £7 for up to £20 worth of grocery items. Applications for this will need to be done via the Household Support Fund website.
-
Hope Community Project | Supporting Disadvantaged Families in Coventry
Click here to find out more- Hope community Projects
Hope Community Projects has been building stronger families since 2019 by providing childcare and support for families and individuals. Their mission is to improve opportunities and outcomes for families and individuals, transforming lives by providing practical and emotional support for people experiencing disadvantage, poverty and social isolation.
Hope Community Projects seek to offer practical support to enable opportunities for social interaction, a nursery, a holiday feeding programme, friendship, support and advice. Children and families are given the right support at the right time in the right way, by running a varied program of opportunities supporting people to build their capabilities, confidence, understanding and well-being.
Grub Hub
Hope Community Projects offer a discounted food parcel, typically about £30 worth of food for a cost of £5 membership a week. You do not need a foodbank voucher to access this service. The Grub Hub will provide local people with affordable food and other household items whilst minimising the food wastage.
School Holidays
Hope Community Projects support vulnerable and low-income families during school holidays by providing free nutritious meals along with activities and day trips. School holidays can be a challenging time for families with increased food costs, lack of fun stimulating activities and social isolation. Hope Community Projects helps children, parents and their wider family network to ensure the family is able to realise its full potential.
-
Youth engagement day at Warndon community hub
Youth Day @Warndon Community Hub! If you're in the local area on Wednesday 30th July, come down :D!
If you want to find out more, or you have any questions, drop us an email: engagement@citizenhousing.org.uk
-
Hillz fm/Watch Charity Visit
Great Day visiting Hillz FM, setting up opportunities for our youth panel! Watch this space 😎🎙️📌
Our main focus to grow this relationship with Hillz FM, with the charity already doing some unbelievable work in the communities around Hillfields and Coventry!
To find out more about Hillz Fm/Watch Charity, and more details on how to get involved with them, can be found on there website here: Click Here for Hillz FM
-
Tyler's Story- Podcast 1
Brilliant afternoon with Tyler. He has lived in a Citizen Property for most of his life, and was great to get an insight into his experience as a potential future Citizen Customer. If you would like to be on Podcast 2, make sure you're registered and we will get it set up!🎉🎙️
-
Customer Engagement Team
