A look at youth services today
Written by Lola Cook
Since 2010, spending on youth services has been cut by 70% showing that youthwork has become an incredibly underfunded and undervalued practice. This means that the attention and funding that is left isn’t necessarily being applied in rural areas like Herefordshire and Shropshire which are perceived by outsider’s eyes to not be as ‘in need’ as more urban areas. This article will share the views of two youth workers from Herefordshire and Shropshire: Rich Morley who is chief officer at South Shropshire Youth Forum and Elizabeth Hackney who works with the Church of England in Herefordshire and South Shropshire supporting churches and Christian Youth Workers. Their perspectives share the specific needs of rural young people and why youth work is so important especially in rural areas which are too often overlooked in terms of what young people need.
When asked about their experience of youthwork in Herefordshire and Shropshire both Elizabeth and Rich noted the disparity between the accessibility of youth work here compared to more urban areas.
“Youth work is really under resourced in this area and young people don't have the opportunities to access youth work that they would in a more urban area,” said Elizabeth, who leads the Intergenerational Mission Team at the Diocese of Hereford. But, she felt, this does mean that what is available to young people is run by committed and passionate people that can recognise the needs of rural young people and view them as equably valid as those who live in urban areas.
Elizabeth said rural youth work can be “really outside the box” and that what is most important is that they are “led by young people”, insinuating that despite youth work being for young people, that they aren’t always asked what they truly want and need.
One of the first things Rich did at the Youth Forum in Shropshire was put in place a peer-led consultation with young people, providing a real picture of what young people really thought. Complex problems came to light including choice of education and feelings of isolation due to their rural location.
“The main thing that hit me,” said Rich, “was the fact that many young people felt they had something to contribute to their communities but weren’t always supported and encouraged to do so”. This suggests that rurally we don’t value our young people in the way that we should, and this may also link to the feeling many rural young people think that rural places ‘don’t move with the times’ and that they are essentially being left behind because their contributions aren’t valued.
Regarding what needs to be changed in youthwork in Herefordshire and Shropshire both Rich and Elizabeth said a necessary transition needs to be made to hold young people at the centre of youth work.
“Many rural plans have young people as a key priority, but I don’t see any changes,” said Rich, adding that youth work can become tokenistic when young people aren’t afforded the voice and support that they need to feel empowered. Elizabeth said: “Youth work needs to become a priority and not an afterthought for local councils and government.”
The dramatic decline in youth services nationally demonstrates a wider disregard for young people and the value of their voices and position in society; youth work is a simple way to build confidence in young people and to show them that they are needed and important.
When referring to the specific needs of rural young people Rich said: “It’s difficult to convince anyone to notice rural poverty as it’s so well hidden compared to urban areas where it is a lot more visible.”
Elizabeth was concerned with the lack of opportunity such as “with employment, access to services, transport, interest groups and activities, affordable housing and education choices.”
There is an evident isolation from being able to connect with people and pursue new experiences as a rural young person and a lack of representation and visibility about living in poverty rurally. If there were more rural youth services that could connect these people living the same shared experience, I’m sure there’d be a surge in self esteem and understanding of one’s own experience.
Inspired by the young people that they work with, Rich and Elizabeth both love what they do despite not seeing the impact of their work immediately. Their passion and dedication to the cultivation of a generation of young people who have been ignored by councils and the government is admirable and awakens you to the fact that youth services are a basic and deserved need of young people today, especially those who live rurally. I hope that rural communities can better learn to incorporate the contribution of young people in realising that the modernity and ideas they have to offer will be transformable in moving forward together into the future and that young people can see how important their voices are.
Image: Youth workers Rich and Lizzie collaborate on events and youth-led activities like the South Shropshire Youth Conferences in 2022 and 2023.
Read more about South Shropshire Youth Forum at www.ssyf.net
Read more about Lizzie’s work here: Intergenerational Mission Team.