Community leaders team up to save mentoring scheme
Fears for service that helps disadvantaged kids
Business and community leaders in Renfrewshire are throwing their weight behind a campaign to save a“ground-breaking” service bolstering the life chances of disadvantaged youngsters.
CEO of St Mirren FC Charitable Foundation, Gayle Brannigan, St Mirren chairman John Needham and chairman of the Manorview Group, Steve Graham, have joined a host of high-profile mentors determined to save the MCR Pathways pupil mentoring programme.
The trio are among 25 wellknown Scots who have signed an open letter to Glasgow City Council calling out its proposal to drop funding for an initiative which is currently supporting in excess of 2,000 vulnerable young people to lead productive and confident lives.
The project sees mentors paired with young people facing significant challenges in their personal lives to help them succeed in school and transition to the world of work or college.
It is the coordinators who facilitate these mentorships and support children daily in the school environment whom are threatened with job losses.
Gayle, who has worked with a host of school pupils in Glasgow, told the Express: “We simply cannot allow this to happen.
“Many of these young people have experienced significant trauma and face so many challenges; they cannot be left alone at the end of this term to flounder.
“What happens to these young people? They will become another statistic for unemployment, poor mental health, crime. The council needs to realise that the cost of those scenarios is five times more than that needed to support young people through the MCR
Pathways system.
“It’s a false economy.”
Some of the young people in the programme are careexperienced, have endured significant trauma and are facing challenges far beyond their years.
For many, the MCR Pathways coordinators in school are a lifeline and a trusted, consistent adult outside of their homes.
The letter signed by the Renfrewshire trio states: “Despite their talents and through absolutely no fault of their own, the young people face massive challenges.
“But since its inception, MCR Pathways and its coordinators have ensured thousands of vulnerable young people have instead been supported to lead productive and confident lives.
“Removing this support will have a devastating impact on their education outcomes, job choices and life chances.
“And that’s not just for a budget period, it is for a lifetime. The city will eventually pick up all manner of social costs for this catastrophic failure.”
It adds: “The young people need and deserve the opportunity to realise their potential and absolutely not to be determined by their postcode or circumstances.”
People from all walks of life – including lawyers, professors, musicians, writers, entrepreneurs and journalists – have joined the campaign to save the Glasgow service.
A petition has also garnered hundreds of signatures.
A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said a final decision on funding for the initiative has not been made, however, MCR Pathways coordinators have been told their jobs will end in June.
The spokesperson said: “A review of our MCR mentoring coordinators is underway following the council budget last month.
“Several options are being explored and no decision has been taken to stop the programme – the council is committed to continuing the MCR service.
“A cross party, political oversight group has been established and we will keep staff and the relevant trade unions informed and updated of developments.
“We understand that this will cause a degree of uncertainty but with council savings of £108 million over the next three years, it is significantly more challenging to protect education expenditure.”
MCR Pathways was established in 2007 with the aim of ensuring every careexperienced young person, or those who have experienced disadvantage, get the same education outcomes, career opportunities and life chances as every other young person.
Its system, which embeds coordinators in schools while partnering young people with a trusted mentor, has been adopted by several local authorities across Scotland and has transformed the lives of thousands.
Many of these young people have experienced significant trauma and face so many challenges