‘I say where I’m from and they tell me they’re sorry’: growing up in the most deprived place in England | Environment

TThe village where Millicit, 22, has lived all its whole life is often its most kept secret – at least until the first impressions are established. “It’s almost like a superpower,” she says. “I’m waiting for people to be comfortable with me, then I will make the big revelation.”

It doesn’t matter where it goes, history is always the same. “I will meet new friends and at some point, I will tell them that I am from Jaywick,” explains Millicent. “And it’s like crossing the five stages of sorrow. They will say:” Oh, you’re not … Oh, I’m really sorry “.”

If the name Jaywick seems familiar, it may be due to the fact that it is frequently quoted as the most disadvantaged place in England and was once the objective of the television series of Channel 5 yefits by the Sea. More recently, it has become the privileged destination of youtubers who make mini-documentaries with titles such as in the most disadvantaged city in England: the truth.

Does negativity disturb her? “It’s like a romantic relationship,” she says. “On the one hand, there is not much here. But you saw me get out of my home – it’s just on the seafront. I love it.”

Jaywick, a seaside village formerly falsified with golden sands that started falling into ruins in the 1950s, has long been slandered by foreigners. But many residents, including millicit, have often been documented over the years, trying to set the record straight.

“There is such a beautiful community, and I do not have the impression that the bad people (s) should be used to represent everyone,” she said.

What is undoubtedly, however, is the lack of local use for those who grew up here and who would like to stay. Job seekers are heading for Clacton, Harwich or beyond-that is, if they can get there.

“He came to the point where the bus service is so reduced that in certain regions, he has in fact stopped running because the roads are so bad,” explains Millicent.

She holds a diploma in fine arts from the University Center Colchester, which makes her one of the 13% of people in Jaywick with a qualification higher than A levels.

But for the moment, that is not enough to bring her where she wants to be. “I have applied for 160 jobs in the past six months,” she said. “And my research zone widens more and more.”

Currently, she works for Park Holidays, which operates several caravan parks along the neighboring coast. It organizes art workshops for children, but it ends in November, when the park ends with tourists, then its options locally are close to zero.

The problem of the search for long -term work is familiar in many seaside cities along the British coast where jobs, like that of a millicent, often last as long as the visits to vacationers.

Twenty miles higher on the coast in Harwich, Hayley Lovett directs Teen Talk, a charity that offers advice and support for 11 to 25 years and their families in the trend area.

Tendring is the name of the wider neighborhood, which includes Harwich, Jaywick and other coastal cities such as Clacton-on-Sea, Frinton and Walton-Ong-Naze. Of its 89 districts, 25 are among the most private 20% in England, according to the ONS, and 33% of people aged 16 to 64 do not work and do not look for work (against around 20% for the region, England and the country as a whole). Jaywick was classified as the most disadvantaged district of England in a 2019 government study.

Many of those who use Teen Talk services are looking for work locally, says Lovett.

“As a community regularly visited by vacationers, there are many roles in hospitality and retail trade that is based on customer-oriented roles,” she says. “But not all young people want this kind of work. Some with neurodivers or anxiety needs, for example, avoid these customer oriented roles, which limits their opportunities. ”

The aging population of the region adds to the challenge of being young in Tendering. The average age in the region is 50, considerably higher than the national average of 40. Between the last two censuses in 2011 and 2021, the number of people aged 65 to 74 years increased by 19%.

It is something that really irrections Kyle, 21, who believes that the council is managed “by more than 50 years for more than 50 years”.

Kyle works in We Are Music, the charity he helps to manage with his friends Finn, Will and Toby (and Nigel, the Finn grandfather). “They say that we need plants and flowers in the parks, and we say that you are giving us something to do. The problem is that we have never had a dison.”

Kyle left school without any qualification, but we joined We Are Music as a child and now earns a salary of teaching through him (as well as playing in a group, Voyage, which was trained by the project).

Thanks to the financing of several different sources, the charitable organization offers free group lessons to children from eight to 18 years old, as well as the management of free programs in 15 primary schools and two secondary schools in Tendering.

“What they did for me growing up: they gave me a place to go, they gave me a safe space,” he said. “If I had problems, I knew that music was my escape.”

Living in an older community is also something that resonates with Jake, 21, which “for better or for the worst” has lived in Harwich all his life. The city, in its opinion, is not a place for “wild imagination and dreams”.

“I wanted to be an artist on stage for some time,” he says. “And as I said to all my teachers in high school, I want to do what Harwich cannot provide because, well, there is no real theater here in Harwich.”

He joined a local theater group where, among other roles, he played “a German who would leave no one near him” in Alan Bennett playing Habeas Corpus.

He was a little embarrassed by the play, he said, because he thought it was not something suitable for his age group.

“As it was very old in style, the things that have been said in production, you can’t really get out of it today, but you must have said,” said Jake.

Lovett says that she noticed that the young people who came to her over the years socialize less and less.

“The availability of youth centers in the rural tendering pockets has decreased due to a serious lack of funding, and there are fewer free space for young people to come and enjoy the activities,” she said. “The question must be: how can we answer this need to create safe spaces for young people, and what would they want to come from?”

Back in Jaywick, Tommy and Luke are brothers from the neighboring village of St Osyth, meet us on the beach with smiles on the two faces. Tommy, 17, likes to live by the sea and thinks that Jaywick does not have a fair press.

“People should come and take a look at themselves what’s here,” he says. “It’s pretty pleasant to grow near the sea, because if you live in a city, you can feel pollution, but here you get a lot of fresh air. I like to put headphones and listen to music while I walk along the sand.”

The boys have formed a group, Bloom, through We Are Music and they meet to train in Jaywick every Tuesday. Kyle says that when he met them for the first time, they were painfully shy.

“Being in a group has helped massively with my confidence,” said Luke, 19. “With live shows, I almost felt like I couldn’t do, but whenever you do, it becomes a little easier.”

A local artistic organization has provided a form of respite to Millicent, as well as a chance to strengthen its skills. It is witnessing weekly gatherings in Yak – The Young Art Kommunity, a group led by peers that organize events and activities via Firstsite, a visual arts center in Colchester.

“We have put exhibitions, organized paid workshops and volunteer with festivals,” she says. This often means that she works six or seven days a week but she has no complaints. “I was very grateful because I had the opportunity to continue what I really want to do through the yak. I just hope that one day, it will help give me this foot in the door I need. ”

The tide series is a collaboration between The Guardian and the documentary photographer Polly Braden