Carl Miller had an epiphany “I woke up one day and wanted to share what I have learned by using what I know - Basketball. I really did, so I did.”
Since setting up Esteem Through Sport and now Look Up To Yourself (LUTY) Carl has touched the lives of hundreds of young people around the UK, each story might be different but each one has one thing in common, an improvement in their lives not only on the court but also off it.
Carl says: “My career has taught me that in life, it was all about how I felt about me, if you put the work in - you can succeed, if you believe in yourself you can achieve anything and not just to be satisfied with my situations. I can deliver guidance and build the confidence and self-esteem of young people. They develop confidence and belief and I can see their self-esteem grow. Interacting, talking and offering guidance is now my passion.”
Carl Miller joined with Clive Thompson in 2010 to setup LUTY Ltd and now delivers his inspirational and life changing programmes into UK Foyers. The LUTY programme design and delivery is aimed at building self-belief and confidence in young people.
Foyers are integrated learning and accommodation centres providing safe and secure housing; support and training for young people aged 16 - 25. There are over 130 Foyers operating in urban and rural communities throughout the UK, where experts reconnect over 10,000 young people every year with personal development opportunities, and back into education, training and employment.
The entry requirements into the Foyer mean that the young person must actively engage in their own development and also make a positive contribution to their local community. Realistically, nature of this exchange depends very much on the individual, where they have come from, the barriers they are facing and their aspirations for the future.
Often it means picking up the threads of education, developing skills for independence and encouraging greater resilience to overcome barriers. It can also mean rebuilding family relationships, overcoming mental health issues or developing stronger self-confidence and self-belief.
“We are not interested in a young person’s past, it is only their future which is important. We see ourselves as reigniting a spark during our programme where young people understand and accept that it is only to themselves that they must look for their future.”
There are too many things that I love about this scheme to mention, but the following Hilary Clinton statement is how I feel about it: ‘It takes a village to raise a child’. LUTY works by:
– Building confidence in young people
– Understanding the need to build a new positive community to which young people can belong
– A method of engagement opens up aspirations and aligns confidence and belief in stated goals.
– Supports motivation and commitment towards these goals.
– Identifies and develops individual expectations and standards for each individual and respect of others
– Reinforces positive perceptions of individuals, the group and the new community
– Ensures that recognition - that the community is their own, and the young people contribute to its development
– Bringing awareness of “self” and the importance of Looking Up To Yourself”
The focus of the LUTY programme is based on the understanding of three main pillars and the journey each person would need to be guided through to build their own self-belief:- “Believe, Belong and Self-Esteem”.
The LUTY approach is to use Basketball, a simple and non-complex team sport to develop basic communication skills, messages of attitude, responsibility and respect of one’s self and team members. For the duration of constructed sessions which allows for both development and success, individual belief systems adjust.
“The challenge and objective of our programme is to try and ensure that each youth takes their new belief with them.”
We know that the “community” with which each youth belongs stems from their own beliefs and therefore their motivation & desire. So we strive to develop a bond between the group where each person receives satisfaction, therefore our sessions become a different and gratifying “community” to that which they may have been used to. We strive to develop this community by developing and learning and team work, ethics, fun, individual responsibilities as well as responsibilities as part of a team, our use of language, confidence building and encouraging support of each other during the sessions.
Self-esteem is a term used in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Our programme allows each youth to undertake their own journey through an activity from which they can develop their own confidence and beliefs and be a part of an appropriate community of like minded individuals.
Our approach is and will always be to guide all who we engage with to understand that “You owe it to yourself to Look up to Yourself”.
Foyer Service Manager Perspective
“Week on Week participation and interest in the project increased, finances permitting we could of easily run the programme for 6-8 weeks. Compared to other projects the LUTY programme has been one of the best for value for money in terms of outcomes for clients, pre project planning and follow up support which enabled me to clearly see the progression of clients”.
After the programme:
- Four clients now have full time employment; one client returned to college (100% attendance), one client accepted by The Princes Trust (at their second attempt after being previously rejected because of “attitude”), and one client has now been taken off an Acceptable Behaviour Contract.
- Two at risk clients have sustained their license agreements and are able to manage their anger / behaviour more positively.
- Anti-Social Behaviour at the Foyer has reduced.
- Clients involved in the programme have gone on to engage in other foyer activities – including presenting at a lecture to 200 students at Kingston University.
- Feel good factor around the Foyer has increased, a staggering ripple effect.
One of our stated aims is to leave a legacy behind. Our legacy consists of a group of young people who will believe in themselves, recognise and value the community and others within the community. Each person will accept and know that their attitude, behaviour and achievements are all down to them. There is no one or no situation that is to blame.
