Government Business: Third of London’s youth centres face closure
04 August 2020
Government Business has published a piece on the impact of COVID-19 on London’s youth sector and the reaction by the Mayor of London. Please click here to read the full article.
The article references the work that London Youth has done to reflect the impact of COVID-19 on our members in our report ‘Running on Reserves’:
Nearly a third of London’s community groups and charities that provide services for young people are facing closure within six months due to finances and struggling to cover running costs.
New data compiled by London Youth found that 47 per cent of those surveyed had to furlough staff and 78 per cent are regularly working with fewer young people than they were before lockdown. This has led to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan warning that the capital’s services for young people face going ‘back to square one’ unless the government provides immediate support.
Lockdown has heavily impacted young Londoners with nearly three-quarters of community organisations saying that the mental health of their young people has been affected.”
Rosemary Watt-Wyness, our Chief Executive, is also quoted:
Community youth organisations play a crucial role in the lives of thousands of young people; building confidence and skills and nurturing trusted support and relationships. Over lockdown they have been at the heart of communities, supporting parents as well. Now, just when young people are facing huge challenges to their wellbeing and employment prospects, many youth projects face a very uncertain future. We are calling on government to turn the tide of years of cuts and invest in our youth services.”
