‘We’re on a cliff edge’: the struggle to keep youth services alive in Knowsley | Young people

“I feel like I’m failing because I can’t reach everyone,” said Toni Dodd, center manager at Karma in the Community, a youth service in Knowsley, on the outskirts of Liverpool.

“I’ll go and show the kids around in front of the stores, let them in, but who is the person I can’t reach? It’s just one thing, they’re heading towards crime, they’re heading towards drugs. There are kids going to school with ketamine. I’m doing the best I can, but it’s very difficult to keep it open and running, and you can’t keep up with the current demand.”

It’s not easy for young people in Knowsley. Research by Social Investment Business (SIB) and the University of Leeds shows it has the highest number of youth work “black holes” of any local authority in England; These areas are areas of high need in the form of deprivation and antisocial behaviour, but with little or no youth services.

The borough also has no A-level provision for its students, who have to travel to Liverpool or neighboring council areas to continue their studies. Although it has improved in recent years, it continues to have the lowest GCSE pass rate in the UK, with 23% of students achieving grades 5 or higher in English and maths in 2023-24.

Dodd says “ground floor” services like theirs are needed to keep young people on the right track. Based in Huyton, the company reaches hundreds of children a year with youth clubs, camping trips and popular kickboxing classes that create waiting lists because demand is so high.

Nathan Orr, 19, started coming to the center at the age of eight and now works as a kickboxing coach and travels the world with his skills. He said that being able to access the service saved him, taught him discipline and respect, and gave him a sense of belonging.

“I compare myself to other kids my age, I think a lot of people are doing the wrong things because there’s not much going on in communities,” he said. “Youth clubs used to be local, on every site, and you were never more than 10 minutes away on foot. Now it’s very difficult for people to get to them.”

He said schools were tough, full of “people who bullied and started fights” and moving on to life after school was a minefield.

“They closed the school about two years before I was in sixth grade. So I had to go somewhere else for college, which was quite daunting, being with new people and feeling like I was starting over. I think it keeps people busy,” she said.

As elsewhere in the country, many youth clubs in Knowsley have closed their doors due to funding cuts. According to the SIB, the neighborhoods around Kirkby are some of the worst affected areas of Knowsley; black holes where young people work.

Residents say the impact has been severe. Merseyside police frequently establish “dispersion zones” in the area in response to young people causing criminal damage, threatening people, taking drugs and riding large quad bikes. civil servants called on parents last weekend to talk to their teenagers about bad behavior.

Knowsley council received government funding last year to help “rebuild local youth services leadership” in the area, and SIB said its research showed money needed to be poured into areas where it was needed most.

The remaining youth services in the district say they do not know how long they can continue. Boyzee at Halewood Youth Community Center has been opening its doors to young people for almost 60 years. It started as a men’s club in 1968 and is now open to all, but its name has not changed.

The company has weathered some tough times, including in 2018 when two senior staff halved their salaries to keep the business going. Like Karma in the Community, a recent Youth Investment Fund grant through SIB has also helped renovate the centre. Previously, the building was so dilapidated that staff had to rush there in the middle of the night to catch leaks when it rained, but they are still struggling with daily operating costs.

“We are on the verge of falling off a cliff due to a lack of revenue funding,” said operations manager and senior youth worker Mark Nelson. “We have funding until the end of March, but if we don’t get more, I’d say we’ve got four months at most before we shut down.

“The capital investment has been really beneficial to the centre, but what we need is not a short sharp fix, we need something that is sustainable.”

The cacophony of noise at 8.30pm on a Tuesday evening suggests the service is more popular than ever. Men are playing football while a group of young women are teaching an exercise class next door. Others spend time doing crafts, playing billiards or chatting.

“There is Nelson said: “There is significant social deprivation here and the problems that come with that, such as antisocial behaviour. But we are the only youth service in the area. I’m not talking about great sports centers and football clubs, but often that comes with costs.”

Senior youth worker Dawn Corrie said: “There used to be more clubs around and we’ve watched them go under over the years.” Most of the young people come from this area, but some come from neighboring towns on bicycles as there are no suitable clubs nearby.

“I get angry because why are we staying up all night and stressing out just to get paid, which isn’t a big deal,” Corrie said. “Gosh, I can work 60 hours a week here and only get paid for 30. “I’m knocking on doors for people to come and work for a few hours, just so we can open up to kids.”