F.I.R.E. - Shine's Youth Programme

FIRE is Shine’s Youth Project for young people. It stands for Friendship, Independence, Resilience and Empowerment. At Shine, we want to support you as you grow into an adult in these areas, when it comes to looking after yourself with your health condition.

 

What is F.I.R.E.?

If you’re aged 13-25 and have spina bifida, hydrocephalus, or a related condition like IIH, then this is the place for you. The name F.I.R.E. was chosen by our current young members, and stands for Friendship, Independence, Resilience, and Empowerment - which is what the programme means to them.

Here you can: 

  • get expert information and advice from our specialist team 
  • access resources, like Hydrocephalus and Learning, our Education passport, or Hospital passport 
  • meet new people and make friends through regular social groups, and 
  • learn about your condition in a secure and interactive environment.

 

Shine's Youth Panel

The Youth Panel plays an important role in steering Shine’s F.I.R.E. programme, and members help to plan activities and events, share youth voice in campaigns, and help develop specialist resources and information.

Recently, the Youth Panel put together a training video for professionals - "Our experiences of spina bifida and hydrocephalus, and how professionals can support us." You can watch the video here:

 


Come along to a F.I.R.E. session 

Each month we run several group sessions on Zoom - F.I.R.E. South, F.I.R.E. Central, and F.I.R.E. North. Each session usually has a topic (recent sessions have included Mastermind, the Traitors, and ‘Me, Myself and I’) and there is plenty of relaxed chat as well. If you're interested in coming along, click here to let the team know.

 

How do we help parents of young people? 

At Shine we try our best to empower young people.  Nevertheless we understand parents need advice and guidance too. We offer advice and guidance to parents, on all aspects of growing up with Spina Bifida, Hydrocephalus, IIH or a shunt. We also have the following support available: 

  • Parent information sessions on Zoom – covering expert advice, whilst offering the chance to meet with other parents of young people. 
  • Parent online peer support via WhatsApp.
  • The chance for parents to connect with each other at family or youth face-to-face events.