A TEAM of young people from Bradford have taken to Tik Tok and are making regular "garden gate" visits to help spread vital messages about Covid 19 around the District.

A number of young people in Bradford have trained to be "Young Covid Ambassadors" - and are helping communities across the District process the ever changing pandemic landscape.

This includes helping young people who would otherwise ignore lockdown advice realise the potentially lethal consequences of their actions.

The ambassador programme has seen dozens of young people trained on how issues like tackling conspiracy theories sent out to different areas of the District to help spread messages to people who might not normally engage with public health messaging.

At a meeting of Bradford Council's Bradford East Area Committee on Thursday members got to hear from a number of these young ambassadors about the work they do.

Helping people get the right information is not always an easy job. One of the ambassadors first projects was a "design a mask" competition for young people, intended to encourage more people to wear face coverings.

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When the children's competition was posted of Facebook it met with a torrent of abuse. One claimed that advice to wear masks was part of a plot to install nano chips in people's hands. Others claimed it was an attempt to brainwash people.

The committee was told during the ambassadors' presentation that when it came to the pandemic there were three types of young people in the district.

Some were "alert" - knowing the risks of Covid and the need to social distance and follow medical advice.

Others were "fearful" - extremely concerned about the virus, and likely to be isolated.

Another category is the "fearless" - young people who do not listen to advice, ignore social distancing and are more likely to believe the numerous conspiracy theories about the virus and vaccines.

Nicole Scott from the Council's youth service, said the ambassador programme had made a big impact in many areas of the District, and there had been a behaviour change from many young people after the intervention of ambassadors.

One ambassador, Hannah, told members: "We raise awareness and establish innovative ways for young people to understand any new guidelines.

"We've been making videos on (social media app) Tik Tok which is a great way to engage with young people as it is much more accessible for them and easier to relate to."

She said the work had been so successful that the group had been invited onto BBC radio to explain what they did.

Another ambassador, Zuzana, told members that a lot of the work she did was translating guidance about Covid and vaccines to non-English speaking residents. She said: "I have been able to develop a good relationship with people in Bradford East. We managed to speak to people who had no clue what was going on."

The committee was told that the ambassadors would engage with businesses about lockdown rules and make socially distanced "garden gate" visits to homes in some areas to help people better understand the latest on the pandemic.

Mrs Scott said: "There has been a big improvement in young people's responses. It has really had a positive impact. Some of the 'fearless' young people have gone on to become ambassadors themselves."

When asked what the future of the project was, she said: "Young people are very mindful about recovery and the impact of social isolation. They are mindful of the impact of the older generation, and are keen to run inter generational programmes."

When Councillors asked the young people what they were getting out of the project, Zuzanna said: "This is the place I grew up, so knowing I'm helping my community and keeping them safe is enough."

Hannah replied: "I feel like I'm helping other young people."

Members of the committee thanked the ambassadors for their good work.