Children and Young People Now have launched a campaign to highlight the importance of providing services for young people. In their words:
The For Youth’s Sake campaign will champion the role young people’s services play and encourage decision-makers and communities to support youth projects.
Services for young people have been hit hard by recent public sector cuts and, as a result, many invaluable youth projects and initiatives face uncertain futures.
CYP Now is calling on readers to back the campaign by signing our online pledge and by raising awareness of young people’s services in their own communities.
We also plan to lobby decision-makers and the media in the coming weeks to ensure young people and the services that support them remain a political priority.
Further details about the campaign and how to get involved are available from our dedicated website www.foryouthssake.co.uk. The website’s action page will be updated regularly about the efforts we’re making and how readers can assist.
Ravi Chandiramani, editor of CYP Now, said: “These are difficult times for young people and the services that work with them. We believe it is important to raise awareness that young people will be the ultimate losers if these services are cut or lost. We have to continue to find ways to fund services for young people, even in the most challenging of times.”
We welcome the initiative and have sent a message of support. Hopefully we can work together in the coming months. Indeed we have invited CYPN to be involved in our next two gatherings in Manchester on September 14 and in Sheffield on November 2. We would encourage supporters to sign the pledge, which allows signatories to comment on the three initial priorities:
The first calls on the government to set out its vision for young people, as we know little about how it intends to help young people achieve their full potential.
The second priority asks for young people to have a genuine say on a local and national level in shaping the services that affect them and calls for them to be given powers to decide where money is spent in their communities.
Third, we’re calling on employers to invest in the youth workforce to ensure young people are provided with the best possible support from properly trained staff and volunteers. We also want those who work with young people to feel valued for the vital role they play in their communities.
IN DEFENCE OF YOUTH WORK 