The Impact of Youth Work on Poverty

Youth work often works at the coalface of poverty in some of Scotland’s most deprived communities. With its person-centred, community-based approach, youth work plays a crucial role in addressing the root causes of poverty by promoting personal and social development, improving educational outcomes, and enhancing health and wellbeing.

Through a heightened understanding of young people’s complex needs when it comes to poverty, youth workers are able to provide targeted support, supporting young people to develop the skills and confidence necessary to overcome barriers and achieve their potential.

Youth work is crucial to tackling child poverty. We benefit from growing evidence that a dignified, youth work approach to addressing poverty works.

• It builds health and wellbeing;
• It improves attendance and engagement with learning, and increases attainment;
• It promotes achievement and leads to positive post-school destinations, helping to lift young people out of poverty.

Youth workers often build relationships with the whole family. This is often targeted at low-income families or those with protected characteristics and contributes to tackling poverty, raising attainment, supporting family wellbeing and enabling parents and carers to take up or sustain work, training and study.

Find out what people in the youth work sector and beyond have to say about the impact of youth work on poverty.

View some of the key projects, case studies, people and organisations that are exploring the impacts of youth work on poverty.