Five minutes with…Daisy Seepersad

Last year Merton’s young people voted in a referendum to be represented in the borough by Young Advisors (YAs). One of the Young Advisors to take up this important new role is 14 – year old resident and Ricards Lodge student Daisy Seepersad.

What does being a Young Advisor mean? Why did you want to get involved?

Merton YA’s aim is to help the council make their decisions, particularly those concerning young people. I was keen to be a YA as it enables me to help others and also for the many opportunities it offers outside of school. I have already gained qualifications in presenting skills and team – working and I am meeting lots of people both my age and older.

What have the Young Advisors been up to so far?

The Young Advisors are currently training on how to deal with issues such as mental health and drug and alcohol abuse. We also took part in ‘Positive Activities Funding’ where we looked at applications for funding to run services for young people in Merton. Myself and the other YAs also recently presented to Wimbledon Town Centre management and the local Chamber of Commerce about a number of things including particular issues young people were facing with retailers.

Young Advisors are undertaking some joint training with Merton’s councilors soon, what do you hope to gain from this?

A deeper understanding of how councilors make decisions about important issues for the borough, and how they consider young people’s input. I am also keen to find out how we might be able to help them by being more involved.

Do you want to be involved with politics or local democracy in the future?

Definitely! Being a Young Advisor has shown me how much thought goes into every decision and how important it is to get a range of views and opinions to make the right decisions.

Thanks to My Merton for this article.