Youth clubs combat crime and poverty but they need help

EVERY time I enter our London youth centre at Marylebone, I can't help but think of the violence and deaths suffered by young people so close, yet so far from the refuge we offer.

- David Jones

Young people are being hurt by gang and drug violence. But this could be avoided if they had more safe places to go where they get a chance to find a passion for football, music, cooking or dance, plus a trusted adult to guide them and cheer them on.

Life-changing experiences — that’s what youth clubs provide. We're not a luxury, but a front-line service in the battle against crime, social isolation, wasted potential — and all on a shoestring. So, I applaud the Government’s decision to inject £88million into youth centres and after-school activities. But I must say it’s nowhere near enough — youth services have been stripped to the bone across the UK and there’s a real north-south divide, too.

I run The Feathers Association, one of the UK’s oldest youth and community charities. We have several sites in London, two in Glasgow, three in Wales and new ones launching in Blackpool, Manchester and Birmingham this year.

THESE services all come at a cost and we stretch the money to offer thousands of young people safe spaces, hot meals, sports coaching, creative workshops and — perhaps most importantly — a belief that their lives can soar higher than the postcode where they were born.