Author: Debbie Watkins

This year has been tough for everyone, but for many vulnerable young people the impact has been devastating. Below are the top 10 issues having an impact on both our residents and the vulnerable young people seeking our help and support services via our Youth Advice Centres (YMCA YAC).

1. 61% increase in young people presenting as homeless at our Brighton & Hove Advice Centre during the first Covid-19 lockdown.
2. Relationship breakdown between young people and their parents /step-parents /carers continues to be the leading cause of youth homelessness. Lockdown, shielding and social restrictions increased tensions in many homes.
3. For the first time in three years, we have waiting lists for family-mediation and we have seen an almost 100% increase in the numbers of young people and families requesting mediation in the last five months (April – September).
4. After family breakdown, the other key causes of youth homelessness include; poor mental health, job losses and substance misuse. All of which are being exacerbated by the pandemic.
5. Emergency cases are increasing every week. These are cases where young people have been evicted that day and have nowhere else to go. We have long waiting lists for all of our housing projects.
6. Increasing numbers of ‘older’ young people (20+) needing help. They are often harder to help, as family and other support has drained away and they fall between children and adult services.
7. Whilst the biggest issue for young people seeking support is homelessness, those seeking support for suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, self-harm and mental health issues is very high. Access to specialist mental health services is currently very difficult due to increased demand.
8. Numbers of young people presenting with physical and emotional abuse issues, including neglect, has increased significantly over the past 6 months resulting in a 45% increase in safeguarding alerts.
9. Opportunities to move on into college placements and other training opportunities have dried up for many vulnerable young people living in supported accommodation. This is impacting their mental health and well-being leading to a significant increase in safeguarding alerts within our housing projects.
10. Part-time jobs and zero hours contracts have been lost which particularly impacts on those young people trying to transition out of supported housing and move on to independence. Long term, this creates a ‘bottle neck’ on the journey to independence that we want all our young people to take (read article on parliamentary concerns HERE)

Throughout the pandemic our project workers have continued to work in all of our projects. In our housing projects, particularly the 24-hour supported accommodation, some have undertaken great personal sacrifices like moving into rented accommodation to keep their own families safe (read Karina’s story HERE). All of our counselling and advice services moved online so that the vital support they offer could continue.

Support our work with vulnerable young people to prevent youth homelessness in the South East

All year round we work to prevent youth homelessness in the South East and support young people with their wellbeing and mental health. All of our projects and programmes aim to put vulnerable young people on a journey to independence and provide them with the help and support they need to go on and lead fulfilling lives.  To help us with this please consider becoming a monthly supporter or join our Room Sponsorship circle.

Earlier this year, management trainees from Willmott Dixon teamed up with students from Greater Brighton Metropolitan College to help us refurbish St Patrick’s so that we can provide 29 supported accommodation units as well as a communal night shelter.

Willmott Dixon helped manage the project and donated the materials required to refurbish the building during the eight-week project. As part of this, under the supervision of Willmott Dixon, students from Greater Brighton Metropolitan’s construction and trades course volunteered their time to complete the required work. There was also huge support from Willmott Dixon’s Supply Chain Partners who provided material donations, labour for the more technical elements and supervision for the students during the works. Mitie provided the M&E support with a large donation of materials and technical supervision, Everest Miles provided materials and labour for the decorations whilst Global Ceramics provided the material and labour to complete the tiling.

Our CEO, Chas Walker said:

“We’re delighted to have worked in partnership with Willmott Dixon on this project, which will directly impact the lives of some of the most vulnerable in our community. Providing us with the materials to complete this refurbishment will have a significant impact on our bottom line which is crucial when budgets are so tight. We’re also delighted that students from Brighton Metropolitan College have volunteered their time to help us, as it demonstrates just how much the whole community cares about homelessness in our city.”

Well done to everyone involved!

“The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on the 25th May shook the world. To die as the result of police brutality simply because of the colour of your skin is unacceptable. George Floyd’s death has sparked the response it has because it’s a blatant and public example of the deep-rooted racial discrimination that members of the black community routinely face. It is easy to think of this appalling event as a problem that exists elsewhere but for so many young people in this country, they face a daily battle against racism – casual, systemic and targeted. Speaking out against discrimination has come to feel pointless. For them, nothing has changed and nothing will change.

This moment feels different. I have been struck by the sheer numbers of young people coming together; people of all races standing side by side to protest for their rights and to stand against inequality. It is a fight that we must all be part of.”

Denise Hatton, National General Secretary & Chief Executive of YMCA England & Wales

As part of the national YMCA federation we stand alongside the call for action on racism, as expressed so eloquently by Denise Hatten. As an organisation that stands up for young people, particularly those marginalised in our society, we believe fundamentally in equality of opportunity, and, the right for everyone to live within our communities without fear or discrimination.

As an organisation we’ve been challenged over our response to Black Lives Matter. Perhaps, because of our core value of inclusiveness, we were slow to recognise that this moment calls for a clear acknowledgement of the racism and systemic discrimination experienced by black people, not just in America, but here too. It is also a moment to recognise that we have work to do in addressing the continuing racial inequality within society.

As a leading voice in the charity sector, we need to start an honest conversation around systemic racism, across the sector, but also internally.  We need to ask ourselves the questions: What more do we need to do to support and promote racial equality in our YMCA? What more do we need to do to ensure our services are accessible and reflect the needs of BAME groups in our local communities? And, how can we be a positive force for change in our society?

It is essential that we embark on an authentic process, because this isn’t a simple issue and we won’t solve it over night, but through a genuine commitment to learning and change. It is important we listen to those from BAME groups in our staff and volunteer teams, service user groups and communities to build a much better understanding of how they experience the world, and in particular, where and how they encounter racism and discrimination.

As the start of that process our staff have recommended books and some recent reports as a good starting point:

 Books:

·        ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’ – Reni Eddo-Lodge

·        ‘Me and White Supremacy: How to Recognise Your Privilege’ – Layla F Saad

·        ‘Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of the Empire’ – Akala

·        ‘Superior’ – Angela Saini

·        ‘White Fragility’ – Robin DiAngelo

Reports:

·        Disparities in the risk and outcomes from COVID-19

·        Monitoring social mobility 2013-2020

·        Windrush lessons learned review by Wendy Williams

·        Lammy review: final report

We would like to acknowledge the contribution of staff and young people to our stand on Black Lives Matter.

Chas Walker

CEO YMCA DownsLink Group

Volunteers’ Week is an annual celebration of the outstanding contribution made by people across the UK through volunteering. Our volunteers are an integral part of our team at YMCA DownsLink Group. Providing support to a variety of projects across Sussex and Surrey, they help to make a difference to the lives of the children, young people and families that we work with.

Whilst the Coronavirus pandemic has prevented many of our usual activities, we’d nonetheless like to send a big THANK YOU to all our volunteers for their dedication and hard work!

Our 244 volunteers give 43,272 hours of support each year to YMCA DownsLink Group, which equates to a massive £255,000 financial contribution to local communities. Amazing!

Below are just two examples of how volunteers make a difference at our YMCA.

YMCA Right Here

YMCA Right Here volunteers are aged from 16-25 and work on a variety of projects to help raise awareness around mental health and wellbeing. If you’re interested in learning more then please contact our lovely colleague Elena: [email protected]

Watch this video of some of the Right Here volunteers sharing their experiences of volunteering for us:

Chaplaincy

Pictured here are some of our wonderful multi-faith volunteer chaplains who organise regular meals for young people living in our supported housing. Their kindness and compassion is much valued by the young people and for some the chaplaincy meal is the highlight of their week. Click here to find out more about Chaplaincy.

Do you know a young person that is struggling with their wellbeing or mental health? Perhaps the pressure and anxiety, created by COVID-19, has exacerbated underlying issues. e-wellbeing is our new mental health service for young people in Sussex. It provides advice, support, and a clear pathway to local services for any young person in need. Following a successful ‘soft launch’ in April this year, we’re now launching a marketing campaign aimed at both young people and their parents and carers to help raise awareness of our new digital platform.

As one of the South East’s biggest providers of counselling services (YMCA Dialogue), we’ve been working on the development of e-wellbeing for over a year. However, due to the increasingly negative impact COVID-19 is having on young people’s mental health, we’ve been working hard to bring the original launch date forward. This has been aided by funding from Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, alongside support from the NHS Sustainability & Transformation Plan.

e-wellbeing is different from other websites, in that it poses a series of questions to help guide young people to the appropriate content. It provides young people with self-help guidance and information about different aspects of mental health difficulties and supports them to make the decision about whether they may need help from a professional service. Crucially, they will then be connected with information about services in their local area.

It is expected that e-wellbeing will have a range of impacts, including supporting more young people to develop skills to improve their mental health or maintain positive mental health, whilst providing faster access to the right service for children and young people. It should also ensure higher rates of appropriate referrals to existing mental health services, and, in doing, should reduce pressure on frontline services, including GP surgeries and A&E.