Ellie Hutchinson, strategic implementation manager at Edinburgh charity Canongate Youth, looks at the vital support provided by youth groups
At Canongate Youth, we’re committed to empowering children and young people, putting their voices front and centre of what we do and so we’ve been really keen to take part in year of the young people, promoting participation and co-production.
With many of the young people who come to us presenting with mental health issues, drug and alcohol misuse, with an experience of care, or who as school refusers this group of vulnerable young people are often the last to be listened to, but the first to be talked about. Finding ways that we can hear their voices and make a difference in their lives, is the heart and soul of our organisation.
As a universal service, we want to continue to celebrate and promote the need for free, open youth spaces and the need for long term sustainability and consistency. We know the role that universal provision has around early intervention and prevention and we know that for every £1 spent on services, youth workers deliver £7 in value.
Children and young people consistently tell us the positive impact we have on their lives, whether they're five years old or 25 years old, we strive to be nurturing, trustworthy, fun, child and young person led and empowering, and we like to think we do a pretty good job of it too.
Our role is to walk beside children on their journey to adulthood, and universal provision means that all children and young people are able to access the same level of support, of nurturing, of fun, no matter where they live or who they are.
The sticky issue then, is that whilst we do offer a universal provision, many of the children and young people who come through our doors do not present with universal issues.
We work with many families, children and young people who are experiencing food poverty, overcrowding, domestic abuse, and chronic underemployment. We work with young men who are at risk of being groomed for criminal activity, and young women exchanging sex for somewhere to sleep. We work indoors and outdoors, through play, music, volunteering, placements, one-to-one and group work support. We work hard to make sure our services work for children and young people, whilst recognising the systemic constraints that poverty has on their lives.
The power of good youth work is hearing conversations and stories in fluid, natural conversations that take place over pool tables, guitars, collages and cupcakes. It’s being there, every week, consistently, openly until children and young people feel able to talk about their lives. It’s helping children and young people build confidence, skills, resilience and community. It's an early intervention service as much as it is a place to make friends and move towards adulthood.
Good youth work is not an accident. It happens because of the skills of youth workers and the spaces they create. It happens because of their dedication to hearing children and young people, supporting them and nurturing them, and it is undoubtedly due to our ability to be consistent.
We are not alone in what we do- all across Edinburgh, and Scotland, universal youth services are providing important, safe, nurturing spaces for all young people. We’re proud to be part of this amazing sector, and we’re looking forward to exploring ways young people can continue to co-produce the services we deliver for them, not only this year of the young people, but beyond.
