OutKast Panda Crew CIC - July 2022

Outkast Panda Crew has become a Community Interest Company, with an aim to help young adults from the community develop new skills and mindsets while fostering new friendships with the wider community by creating a positive space where they can come and learn.

Our background - originally we were a car club (still are) and want to help young people who are disenfranchised with either academic education or "bored" with nothing to do, we want to engage them and bring them inclusive within the car community and help develop some new skills in a group that they want to join or be part of and have the ability to access further learning with workshops we hope to deliver and keep them of the street and become part of a positive inclusive environment, our over all plan is to provide a learning service and be hands studying of vehicle maintenance at its core creating employment or education opportunities. To engage with the many young people in our local community offering a better route to employment and a creative space to go when not in school or employment.

We have helped a group of people in the age range of 16-26 who have identified as experiencing social anxiety and/or depression and a lack of confidence. We provide a welcoming environment where they can be part of a supportive community, ensuring they can flourish.

Our Plan is to get young adults aged 16-26 who are doing ASB and dealing within the community and bring them in to OPC so we can teach them motor maintenance at a basic level such things as servicing, changing brakes, suspension and body panelling, we will also help these guys out with writing a CV, each participant will get a portfolio to show they have a certificate of experience in each section, this will show proof to employers traineeships and apprenticeships that they have done these things, its also a moral and confidence boost.

So two major benefits is the community of Hull, we are both aiming to reduce ASB and drug dealing within our community by literally taking young people of the street and get them in to learning about cars our angle is modified cars, so there’s a Cool factor, we believe this will tackle a part of the problems within Hull. The second benefit is the young people themselves will develop new skills and gain valuable opportunities to further them, they can learn to respect the value of a car and appreciate how much it is to repair.

We have helped a group of people in the age range of 17-26 who have identified as experiencing social anxiety and/or depression and a lack of confidence. We provide a welcoming environment where they can be part of a supportive community, ensuring they can flourish.

A number of our members have identified as experiencing social anxiety and/or depression and a lack of confidence which led to social isolation, exacerbating their issues, especially during lockdown. As our interests in modifying cars is considered niche, our members felt they had no one to talk to who would understand them or share similar interests. Although there are many car clubs across the country, some members were either rejected or not given the support they needed to overcome their issues. OutKast Panda Crew provides a welcoming and supportive environment we refer to as a “family”.

As a result of our efforts, we have seen our members gain confidence, interact with new people, talk openly about the issues they are facing whilst learning how to fix and modify their cars. We have established a community with a shared interest that people can relate to in a safe and nurturing environment, free from judgement.

We will sustain this by continuing to hold our regular meets and organising club events whilst we work on securing a unit where we will be able to teach vehicle maintenance and safety and expand our reach to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.