Interview with a Trustee- Ian Mylam

Interview with ian mylam
Mary's trustee

Q: How long have you been a trustee?

Since the St Mary’s Islington Community Partnership was formed in 2008. I became a trustee for the partnership, but I was involved in the youth club itself from the mid-1980s.

Q: What made you want to get involved originally?

I was asked! I’d joined St Mary’s Church in the mid-80s and got to know Nick, who was the youth worker and also a church member. We both had a love of sport and discovered that we’d probably played football against each other before. So I started getting involved with the youth club around 1985 or 1986, something like that.

Q: What was the Youth Club like in the 1980’s?

It was very different from what I’d known growing up in the suburbs, in more of a middle class area further out in North London. It was quite an enlightening thing for me to be involved in the youth club. At the time it was very male-dominated, and had a strong African-Caribbean presence. There were a lot of interesting debates going on around race and social issues at the time as well as this was just after the early 80s riots in London, so there was a lot of tension around this subject.

I started as a player-manager for one of the two football teams, and later we had a cricket team too. I love cricket, and we organised a league that ran mid-week and on the weekend sometimes too, jointly with the church. It was a very sport-oriented environment, which suited me.

Q: How has the club continued to change over the years?

The biggest change is probably in how professional it’s become. The youth workers now are meticulous in their planning and recording, partly due to funder requirements. But what’s stayed the same is the personal care and support—it’s always been a space that helps young people grow in confidence and resilience. Nick, for example, was brilliant at getting alongside people and helping them out, he made an impact that people still talk about today.

I think that people who work for the youth club really care about the young people, and that’s something that continues until today.

Q: How has your role changed?

Yes, I chaired the church’s management committee in the 90s, which also managed the neighbourhood centre, including the building. Back then, there wasn’t nearly as much activity or use of the space as there is now. I took a bit of a step back in the early 2000s but ultimately I’ve always stayed committed, my friendship with Nick and love of sports was a big part of that. So when the SMICP was formed in 2008 I became a trustee of that and have been since then.

Q: What’s kept you involved for so long? 30 years is a long time!

I tend to stick with things! That’s both a strength and a weakness—you can stifle new ideas if you stay too long. But I’ve stayed local, I’m still part of the church, and I’ve always had a love for the youth club and what it offers. Nowadays, I stay connected through activities like the summer camps and Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, and I do a lot of the driving for the camps as well. I don’t play football anymore but I still enjoy walking and being outdoors and I’m very keen to support and encourage young people to go outside, through hiking and camping. I’ve stayed overnight on a couple of the camps, sometimes for up to three days, I really enjoy encouraging others to go outside.

So I have a love of Mary’s Youth Club as an entity in itself. It’s an open access youth club, of which there aren’t that many around anymore and I see it as a place which provides opportunities and helps young people to develop, to grow and have confidence and be resilient in different situations.

Q: Have you helped fundraise for Marys’ Youth Club?

Yes, there came a time when we realised that for the charity to survive we needed to boost the rental income and also try to raise some money from grants and things like that. We were very successful in 2015 when we got over £300,000 from the Reaching Communities fund. That allowed us to hire more staff, including Aston and Sally, and took the organisation to another level. It was a big shift, and helped the charity move to the next level, helping to generate more rental income. This was an interesting time, with lots of ups and downs, good and bad times, but ultimately the charity continued to thrive and grow.

Q: What’s your sense of what young people face now compared to before?

It’s harder to say because I’m not as close to the day-to-day work. But I’d say young people today face more pressure, just negotiating life, especially from school. School seems to put a lot more pressure that it used to. I also think that a lot of the young people come from challenging family situations as well. But being in London offers them opportunities that youth in other parts of the country might not have. The club plays a key role in helping them navigate those pressures as well I think.

Q: Do young people respond well to you?

Over time, yes. If you’re present and consistent, they get used to you and will have confidence to start calling you by your name and talking to you. I think it helps to show them that people from different backgrounds are interested in them and their lives.

Q: What do you enjoy about being around young people?

Young people are really inspiring. The energy that they have is wonderful, you could live off their energy. They can be frustrating as well, but we were all there once upon a time. I was a teenager once too, and I had people who mentored me really well, and I can appreciate the value of having an older person to mentor somebody.

Q: What are some favourite memories?

The cricket team was a highlight—very multicultural, with West Indian, Nigerian, South African, Pakistani, and British players. And getting the lottery grant was a big milestone. I also love camping—being in a tent when it’s pouring with rain, hearing an owl hoot at 3am… it’s just special.

Q: And your role as a trustee—how do you feel about that now?

I still enjoy it because I care deeply about the organisation. I used to be very involved in fundraising, especially around the lottery bid, but I’ve stepped back now. I’m happy to do things like leaflet drops again, and I think it’s great there’s new energy on the fundraising committee.

I think we have a great group of Trustees. They are all very committed, knowledgeable and far more experienced in youth work than me. But I’d say I bring longevity, keenness and a willingness to be involved.

Q: Where do you hope to see Mary’s in the future?

I’d love to see Mary’s continue to grow, maybe get more private donations, but also keep its creative, independent spirit. I think private donations would help us to see that people still care, which of course they do, but I think it would be nice for us to see that that the youth club has the backing of locals.

The youth club has always had a strong identity, even when it was part of the church. It is well respected by Islington Council and by other youth clubs, so it’s had this strong identify for 40 years or so. Islington has a few different youth clubs but I think people come to Mary’s because there is a sense of community and also engagement on a deep level. I think this is something that Mary’s does well.

Q: Three words you would use to describe Mary’s?

Support, Opportunities, Friendship

Q: What can people do to support the youth club?

Tell other people about it. Encourage your own young people to go. Support it financially.