YMCA boss fears a ‘lost generation’ as youth services funding drops
VULNERABLE young people could become a “lost generation” as spending on local youth services has plummeted by 82 per cent over the last decade, a campaign group claims.
New analysis by YMCA England and Wales shows that since 2010/11 funding for youth services in England has been cut by 73 per cent, and local authority spending on youth services in 2019/20 in England was £372.12m, a reduction of six per cent year-onyear.
YMCA Burton also says that youth funding in the West Midlands has gone down by 82 per cent since 2010/11, and more support is needed to stop vulnerable young people becoming a “lost generation”.
Paul Laffey, chief executive of YMCA Burton said: “The additional funding cuts to youth services are going to have a serious impact on young lives. Over the last 10 years we’ve seen an 82 per cent decline in local authority funding in the West Midlands for youth services.
“Youth services exist to provide a sense of belonging, a safe space and for young people to enjoy their childhood and teenage years. This time of the global pandemic has been particularly difficult on young people, with many suffering from isolation, loneliness, unemployment and increased mental health problems.
“It’s more important now than ever before that we see funding and resources available to support young people to prevent these young people from becoming a lost generation.
“Not only do these continued cuts come at a time when demand for youth services has intensified, they come at a time when the crucial investment has been promised but not yet fully delivered.
“Add to this the disproportionate and devastating impact of the pandemic on young people’s mental health, and youth services find themselves at their most critical point in history.”
YMCA’S Back on Track report (August 2020) found that more than half (57 per cent) of young people felt that their mental health had worsened during lockdown, with 77 per cent feeling lonelier and more isolated.
This is on top of recent findings from NHS Digital which cite that one in six children aged 5-16 now identified as having a probable mental disorder, an increase from one in nine just three years ago.
The organisation says it is more important than ever for young people to have access to services and safe spaces for their personal, social and emotional development outside of home or school.
Each year YMCAS provide a safe space for 41,960 young people through their extensive youth services work, welcoming almost 20,000 young people through their 79 youth centres throughout England and Wales.