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Pinnacle Youth Outreach

Pinnacle Youth Outreach is a brilliant project based in a community called Elsiesriver in Cape Town and is run by a worker supported by Bath YFC called Jerome Hartley. The relationship has a very organic feel as the initial seed of an idea to get involved that was sown in 2006 has grown from short-term visits both ways and begun to flourish currently being able, in partnership with a couple of local churches, to fund Jerome's work with the local young people struggling to deal with issues such drug and alcohol addiction and gang culture. They also run a football project and soup kitchen among others things.

In September 2009 Jerome and two members of his team, Tessa and Andre, visited Bath to share stories of their work from Elsiesriver in local secondary schools, churches and received training around the areas of working with drug addictions, strategy development and fundraising. They also got to experience different youth work projects run around the city. The relationship is as strong as ever and the hope is that we can continue to develop the link with further visits both ways in what is a mutually beneficial link.

It has been amazing to watch lives being impacted by the work of Jerome and his committed team of volunteers as Nolan's story makes clear:

Nolan, 23 years old, was involved in one of the most notorious gangs in Elsiesriver and his five year addiction to 'tic' (crystal meth.) forced him to steal and do what ever necessary for drug money. It all started by giving into peer pressure as a teenager trying softer drugs such as cannabis that left him wanting more and continuing to chase that first experience resulting in a life controlled by the drug...

Excited by life and 5 months clean Nolan now smiles, acknowledging believing in God, who has transformed his life and given him a new identity. Having relapsed eight times Nolan himself says that what has kept him off drugs this time is the relationship he has with Jerome and the support group, that they pray together and talk about their cravings and that Jerome does not judge but is willing to give someone like Nolan a chance and trust him when no-one else would have.