Author: Anthony Irtelli

It was great to have the opportunity to welcome Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion to YMCA YAC (Youth Advice Centre) in Brighton last week.

YMCA YAC provides young people in the local area with a safe and friendly environment where they can access helpful advice and support. They are the first place to go for housing advice for anyone under 26 years old who is homeless or threatened with homelessness. They also offer a family support and mediation service and a support and advice service providing sexual health advice and services, emotional and wellbeing support and benefits and money advice.

Our CEO Chas Walker met Caroline and spoke about the wider story and the challenges both young people and our YMCA face with the increasing levels of youth homelessness in the City and the rise in mental health problems faced by young people. Caroline took a tour of YMCA YAC, which has a partnership approach to having a wide range of services under one roof, and is one of very few places now where young people can access advice, support and guidance that helps to keep them safe in the City.

She was keen to find out more about supported housing and the changing levels of need as statutory services continue to reduce thresholds and the levels of support. It was also an opportunity to talk about the challenges faced by our supported housing teams and young people including the availability of move on accommodation. She was particularly interested in improving young people’s access to good quality mental health support and housing.

Caroline commented:

“Great to catch up with Chas Walker to discuss challenges facing youth services, particularly in the face of massive government cuts. Thanks to the amazing staff at YMCA DLG and YMCA YAC in Brighton for all the vital work you do with vulnerable young people in our city.”

Thursday 10 October was World Mental Health Day and we were all challenged to spend an hour on ourselves during that day.

Sparked by the campaign originally led by YMCA Right Here, #IAMWHOLE is now a national campaign to promote better mental health among us all and particularly children and young people.

Writer, performer and mental health campaigner Jordan Stephens, best known as one half of duo Rizzle Kicks, features in a short film about WHOLE HOUR. He says, “WHOLE HOUR is all about doing what makes you happy. It’s so easy to get caught up in daily life dramas or sink into our screens and disconnect from reality. We need to take time out to engage with our mental wellbeing. Put yourself first this World Mental Health Day – figure out how you’re feeling and think about what you could do to give yourself a boost. Take a WHOLE HOUR for you.”

The YMCA Right Here team spent the day walking with Mind, making badges in the Unitarian Church and taking the time to talk at work over a cuppa and a bit of cake!

Figures released recently by YMCA show that spending on youth services across England looks set to reach its lowest ever point in a generation. An analysis of 84 local authorities across England reveals that while the average spend on youth services per local authority in 2010 was £7.79m, planned average spend for 2019/20 is just £2.45m – a 69% decline. A third (29%) of local authorities have planned cuts that would see their spending on youth services decline by 80% since 2010/11, while the vast majority of local authorities (83%) have planned to cut their funding in half over the nine-year period.

Areas with planned spending cuts of 80% or more extend throughout England, from 86% in Liverpool, to 94% in Southampton and 96% in Gateshead, where funding will have fallen from £6,958,000 in 2010/11 to a predicted £277,000 in 2019/20. And if these figures weren’t alarming enough, 8% of local authorities revealed their planned cuts for the current year would mean a 90% reduction in spending on youth services, rendering funding comparatively non-existent.

Denise Hatton, Chief Executive of YMCA England & Wales, said: “Youth services offer a vital lifeline within local communities, providing young people with support, advice and a place to go when they need it most. The year-on-year cuts to youth services are not without consequences and we are already seeing the impact of these cuts in communities across the country.”

The day-to-day impact of youth services often goes unnoticed by the public, but its benefits cannot be underestimated. Alan Maphosa was referred to YMCA Hayes at the age of 21 after arriving as a refugee from South Africa 10 years ago. Through his use of, and dedication to youth services, Alan has gone from a homeless young person accessing supported housing with YMCA to a qualified youth worker in just 18 months. An established boxing tutor and football coach, Alan is well known in his West London community and has been integral in engaging with young people who are involved in local gang culture. He works with the police to achieve many positive outcomes for these young men, who would otherwise have nowhere to turn. As part of youth services, there are almost 8,000 participants involved in crime prevention and avoidance programmes run by YMCA.

On the back of these devastating funding cuts, YMCA is asking the public to show their support in making young people the central focus of government action. Dedicated and appropriate funding would allow local authorities to deliver necessary youth services locally and support their communities. Together, we can ensure that the services which provide a sense of belonging and keep young people safe are there when they need them the most.

YMCA would like the public to show their commitment by signing this petition and raising the issue of cuts to youth services with their local MP.

On Saturday 24^th August at 6am, a small team from YMCA Eastbourne set off walking from Chantry House in Eastbourne, heading to Reed House in Hove, all to raise money for YMCA DownsLink Group’s work with young people.

Matt Ewing, YMCA Engage Lead Instructor, shares his experience of the day:

We anticipated a difficult day ahead, walking nearly 26 miles across the South Downs including a few hills over the Seven Sisters. We had some setbacks along the way including some trips, blisters, exhaustion and the heat (28 degrees) definitely made things that little bit harder. I decided to take my camera with me (I’m so glad I didn’t take my tripod) to record some footage and to remember this wonderful experience.

We had such a blast and laughed a lot, but more importantly, our team have raised almost £1,000 for the YMCA175 Fundraising Challenge series. If anyone would like to sponsor us, there would be nothing better than reaching our collective target of £1,000! You can kindly sponsor us here.

Thanks, (Matt, Vanessa, Kirsten and Trish)

Thanks to Anna & Judith who provided support along the way last Saturday!

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