Arts / young people
New support services to help disadvantaged young people
New support services to help Bristol’s teenagers have been announced by Bristol City Council. Young people’s charity Creative Youth Network has been awarded £9m to spend on services that will support young people aged 11-19, primarily from areas in Bristol with high deprivation. The services will be launched in June 2018 and funding is to be spread over three years.
Councillor Helen Godwin – cabinet member for women, children and young people – has said that these services will “put a focus on identifying and supporting those in the most deprived areas of the city and encourage the sector to grow and become more sustainable”.
Creative Youth Network offers young people the chance to try many creative pursuits from its four city centre bases
Creative Youth Network aims to help adolescents overcome social barriers. With four youth centers (The Station, Hillfields, The Stokes, Hanham), advice services and a selection of creative courses, the charity seeks to offer care and assistance to young people with a variety of educational, health and social needs.
is needed now More than ever
Sandy Hore-Ruthven, CEO of Creative Youth Network, said of the news: “We are really pleased to be awarded these contracts. The new targeted youth services will allow us to build on our existing work with young people and help them reach their potential.
“Our service includes work with many local organisations that will help us to reach young people from all communities in our city. This will include services for young people not in education, employment or training, support with mental and physical health and help with managing relationships and behaviours. We hope to help approximately 3,700 young people a year across the city with this new service.”
Creative Youth Network also works with many organisations, including Bristol Drugs Project, Young Bristol, Full Circle, and a range of other Bristol-based support networks. Advice services provided by the charity help young people to overcome problems that might prevent them from pursuing their goals, and youth workers offer support for various issues including mental illness, family struggles and problems at school.
Year on year, the number of young people Creative Youth Network helps has increased. In 2016 the charity worked with 3473 young people, and with this extra funding, they now aim to help over 3700 young people across the city.
For more information, visit www.creativeyouthnetwork.org.uk
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