I think the word ‘crisis’ is one of those words that is massively overused (just like ‘unprecedented’ was during the pandemic!), but over the last year or so, through talking to other professionals in social care, mental health services, NHS and education, I sense a collective feeling that we are on the verge of a crisis in our young people.
I hear about the NHS mental health services with massive 2-year waiting lists and see the results through young people being referred to us, who can’t access the NHS clinical help they need. The NHS gets 4,000 referrals every week in the UK from young people seeking help for their mental health.
I hear from teachers about the levels of young people not attending school (some have 40% truancy rates) and have heard them describing classrooms as ‘battlegrounds’ with teachers being punched, sworn at and spat on and with groups of pupils roaming the school causing damage without challenge.
I hear from those working on the Scottish Government Suicide Prevention Policy that suicides in young people are still on the rise – now the leading cause of death among young people under 30.
I see in the press that bus drivers live in fear of attacks from young people and often will drive past large groups to avoid having to deal with abuse. One bus driver was recently tragically killed by a young person in Elgin.
I see reports of gangs of young people out on the streets, not only on Fireworks night but over several days in the lead-up, in lots of locations across Scotland with police and fire crews being attacked.
And then there is the research showing the hugely negative effects of mobile phone use and social media (some countries considering bans of smartphones for those under 16) along with an internet full of scams, pornography, misogyny and sextortion, leading to the loss of more lives. Young people are living with incredible pressures that other generations have not had to live with.
And so, as the government is grappling with an increasing number of young people who are ‘economically inactive’ and seem to only be able to suggest restricting benefits as the best way to resolve this, I’d like to offer another solution.
“Without Venture Scotland it would have been too late, and I wouldn’t be here now.”
Perhaps, instead of reading the gloomy statistics and blaming the ‘young people of today’, perhaps we should walk alongside these young people, find out what their lives are like, support them to work out who they are, build trusted caring relationships with them and let them take some risks in their lives (I know I did and perhaps still do!), let them make mistakes and still be around for them. Perhaps by doing this, we can give them a feeling of hope for their future.
But how can we do this meaningfully? We, as a society, need to commit to supporting a whole generation of young people who have experienced a pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis and an unprecedented (sorry!) jump in technology and the solution is youth work. Over the last ten years, the funding for youth work provision in Scotland has been halved and here at Venture Scotland, we are struggling to secure sufficient funding for our work, having already lost a third of our staff team. We have seen long-established charities, like ours, closing every single week due to the current funding issues.
Who will be there to support our young people if we are not?
If you are sitting there asking how you can help, then I have one obvious suggestion and one less obvious suggestion.
During the first week in December, we are taking part in the Big Give campaign. Any donation made during this week via our Big Give link will be doubled. Ultimately, only people’s generosity allows us to do the life-changing, and often, life-saving work we do.
Secondly, Martin Whitfield MSP, plans to propose a member’s bill in the Scottish Parliament called the Youth Work (Scotland) Bill which would…
‘…. ensure accessible, well-funded, and high-quality youth work services across Scotland, supporting the holistic development, well-being, and social inclusion of young people, and ensuring equal opportunities for all, regardless of background or circumstance.’
https://www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/proposals-for-bills/proposed-youth-work-scotland-bill
If you could support this bill by getting involved with the consultation, this could potentially make the societal change needed to support our young people and ensure they can lead brighter, healthier and happier lives with hope for the future – something which will benefit every single one of us.
Thank you to everyone who keeps supporting Venture Scotland through thick and thin and I wish you a very peaceful festive period.
David Brackenridge, CEO