Pride Month | Why working with LGBT+ young people is important to me

Meils Williams

Meils Williams, University of South Wales Youth and Community Work student, talks about their studies, research, and coming out as non-binary.

“When I was younger, I was mentally unwell.  I had a traumatic time and put on a lot of weight. I was body confident and loved myself, but I found myself questioning plus-size fashion. It was all very feminine and didn’t feel right for me. I realised that I didn’t have to conform to societal norms of what a plus-size person should be or look like – I felt like I was somewhere in-between.

As time went on, I lost a lot of weight and I identified as lesbian or queer but found it difficult to label myself. In my early teens, I changed my name to Jamie but even that didn’t feel 100% right, so I let that pass.

I am from Cornwall and belonged to an LGBT+ youth group in Plymouth. When I turned 18, I volunteered with the group and that is what sparked my interest in youth work. It was a large group with 40-50 members, and I always felt part of a community.

However, when I started studying at USW and started working in the community, we realised that there wasn’t that opportunity for LGBT+ young people in Newport. So, my friend Jacob and I set up the LGBT+ youth group, ‘Shout Out’. It took a long time to get the ball rolling, due to the pandemic, but we have had some amazing feedback since.

We have run some awareness sessions in schools with years 5 and 6. There have been challenges but it’s also amazing to see how much progression you can make in a one-hour session.

I am now in my final year and about to hand in my dissertation. The student placement opportunities have been amazing. I work at Community Youth Project in Newport. We work with young people from 8 to 25 years. This involves anything from youth club, sport and play, one to ones, and we even have a music studio.

I had never undertaken ‘detached’ work before. This is where two or three of us would go out into the community, to where the young people are, just to talk to them and see how they are doing. This was especially important during the pandemic. The only interactions some young people would have with adults, was either the police telling them to move on, or teachers telling them to get on with their home-schooling. So, it was vital for them to see a friendly face offering support through really challenging times.

I decided to base my dissertation research into sport and play in youth work. I was never into sport growing up, but this has developed into a passion of mine because it is not about being competitive. We are led by the young people. One week we could be coaching basketball or football skills, then another week it could be ‘Hide and Seek’, dodgeball, water fights, or ultimate frisbee. It is about getting everyone involved, moving our bodies, and building confidence.

Last year, I came out as non-binary. I had been thinking about it for a while and it was daunting. Everyone was so supportive; my mum, classmates, lecturers etc. It was well-received in ‘Shout Out’ too – we ran a session on pronouns and when I said ‘my pronouns are they/them’, one young person’s face just lit up. They said, ‘me too’. It is so important for young people to have positive role models.

Some of the young people I work with are unaware of how I identify, after all, there is a lot more to me than being non-binary. I think it would be an unnecessary distraction as we work on breaking down pre-conceived ideas. I am motivated to help young people in general. Even if they say homophobic things, I still have unconditional, positive regard for them.”