The Team
Jamie Sawtell
CEO
Zahna Hull
Youth Development WorkerRaising Aspirations
Luke Johnson
Youth Support Worker(Positive Activities)
David Odei
Youth Support Worker
Armand Kitoko
Youth Development WorkerBasildon
Diane Morris
Youth Development WorkerRochford
Natasha Simmonds
Youth Support WorkerOur Patron – Nick Alston CBE, DL
Nick Alston CBE, DL is a former High Sheriff of Essex. After a career in defence and security he was elected as the first Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex. Nick is closely involved with a number of charities across Essex and is also Vice-chair of Governors at Anglia Ruskin University.
On being asked to become a Patron of Bar ’n’ Bus, Nick said ‘I am delighted to support Bar ’n’ Bus in this way. I first became aware if its work when PCC for Essex and have followed developments closely, including during my year as High Sheriff. There is nothing more important than supporting young people as they learn to cope with the many challenges that they face today. Bar ’n’ Bus does a great job of equipping young people across south Essex both to meet those challenges and to grasp the opportunities to reach their full potential. I have huge respect for the Bar ’n’ Bus team and for the many volunteers who enable their work. I look forward to adding my support.’
Our History
Bar ‘n’ Bus was founded in 1993 and works in partnership with local churches, councils and schools to serve communities through providing community based youth work and in-school counselling. Working in partnership with local churches, we have delivered thousands of hours of community based youth work utilising converted double decker buses to run volunteer led mobile youth centres.
Our Vision & Work
Bar ‘n’ Bus is a Christian charity working with young people throughout Essex.
We work in partnership with local churches, schools, councils and groups to provide professional, community-based youth work, seeking transformation and fullness of life for young people. We employ professional youth workers as well as recruiting, training and supporting teams of volunteers to offer a wider provision of community youth work.
Our heart is to provide programmes for young people in the location of their choosing, rather than bringing them to our own venues. A large amount of our work takes place ‘on the street’ with detached youth workers engaging young people in parks, high streets and playgrounds, as well as utilising mobile youth vehicles for outreach sessions. We also provide a large amount of in-school support with a growing volunteer mentoring programme, bespoke group work and commissioned counselling programmes.
Our Faith
We believe that God loves the world and cares about every young person – wanting them to live full, positive and meaningful lives. This faith leads us to give our time and efforts to seeking transformation in young people’s lives through support, advice and positive activities, reflecting God’s love through our actions. Faith is a motivating factor in our work, and a spiritual reality for our team, but is not a requirement for those engaging with our work or services and is not at the forefront of our conversations with young people. We exist to provide for young people’s social, emotional, physical and spiritual needs regardless of their beliefs, background or status.
Our Policies
We are fully committed to safeguarding and looking after those we work with and regularly update and review our policies.
Use one of the links below to view/download our specific policies.