This is the second in a series of three pieces highlighting what must change to ensure every young person in Scotland can access high-quality youth work: guaranteed by law, available in every community, and sustained by long-term investment. Peter Kelly, Chief Executive of The Poverty Alliance writes about A Future – Sustained and Increased Investment in Youth Work and why youth work is an essential service for Scotland’s young people, especially for those growing up in poverty.
This is the second in a series of three pieces highlighting the core commitments of our manifesto — A Right, A Space, A Future.
Together, they set out what must change to ensure every young person in Scotland can access high-quality youth work: guaranteed by law, available in every community, and sustained by long-term investment .
Peter Kelly, Chief Executive of The Poverty Alliance writes about A Future – Sustained and Increased Investment in Youth Work…
Youth work is an essential service for Scotland’s young people, especially for those growing up in poverty. By providing opportunities, trusted relationships, spaces to meet, learn and build connections; youth work supports young people to build their confidence and ambitions, understand their rights and overcome the practical challenges caused by inequality.
For too many young people, the injustice of living in poverty within a wealthy Scotland means they are excluded from life experiences others take for granted. Without adequate income, they are shut out from travel, culture and social activities, affecting not only their opportunities but also their sense of who they are, where they belong and what they can be in the future. Youth work can offer those opportunities, whether through sport, the arts or just by providing a safe, warm space where young people can meet one another and connect with trusted adults.
Across Scotland, youth workers play a vital role in supporting young people who are struggling in school or experiencing wider barriers linked to poverty. Youth work alone can’t lift young people out of poverty, but it can help provide young people with the foundations to build a better life. Research shows that youth work helps raise aspirations, builds confidence and strengthens engagement in learning, especially for young people who have had negative experiences of school.
We also know how important youth clubs and youth workers are in providing welcoming and accessible spaces outside the home where young people feel safe, supported and valued. This should be something everyone in our society has, but too many young people growing up in areas of deprivation suffer from stigma and hostility. Through trusted relationships, youth workers offer one-to-one support that can be truly transformative. Many young people describe youth work as helping them to develop their resilience, skills and self-belief and to rebuild a positive relationship with education and their community.
Scotland has a stated ambition to be the best place in the world to grow up. If we truly value young people’s rights, dignity, and their potential, we must also value the powerful and transformative role of youth work in turning that ambition into a reality. That’s one of the reasons that is so important that the Scottish Government introduce fair and sustainable funding for three years or more for the third sector. So many youth work organisations in Scotland are struggling with year-to-year funding, on top of over a decade of cuts. It is vital that youth work organisations, and the young people they support, are given the foundation to thrive that fair funding would create.
Read the first in the series by Ellie Craig MSYP, Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament, whose recent address to Parliament set out why youth work is not simply valuable, but essential. Drawing on her own experience, she highlights the importance of consistent support for young people and the need to ensure access is based on need, not chance.