“Youth workers go over and above every day, for the kids in our areas”
Stock image of Belfast City Hall(Image: Belfast Live )
Belfast City is demanding more rights for young people and youth workers.
Belfast Council is to sign up to a charter demanding more statutory support for young people who rely on youth groups and those who deliver them.
The Youth Work Alliance Charter for Northern Ireland is a campaign to protect, fund, and unify the local youth sector. It unites diverse provisions including statutory, community-based, LGBTQIA+, and rural groups and makes several demands.
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It calls for ring-fenced budgets and multi-annual financial commitments to protect universal youth services from cuts and vulnerabilities, as well as secure contracts for all youth workers and volunteers. It advocates for “child-first” policies and demands formal educational integration.
At the June meeting of the council’s People and Communities Committee, Sinn Féin Councillor Nichola Bradley successfully proposed that the council endorse the Youth Work Alliance Charter.
She told the chamber: “Youth services feel like they are constantly being treated as a “nice to have” luxury or a “nice if you can get it” item that can be trimmed when budgets get tight. But they aren’t discretionary, and they are an absolute necessity that a lot of children in our areas rely on.
“This charter sets a standard of care for our kids. It tries to address a broken, reactive, system and replace it with something sustainable. It aims to guarantee that every young person in Belfast gets high quality youth work no matter what their postcode is.
“It uses a public health approach instead of waiting for crises. It uses youth work to create mental wellbeing, community safety and pathways to employment.”
She said: “Youth workers go over and above every day, for the kids in our areas. We are asking them to go out and help our kids plan for their futures, while some of these workers cannot even plan for a mortgage because of the way funding is rolled out.
“When youth centres cut hours or staff this council and our communities feel it immediately, in the rise in antisocial behaviour, mental health struggles and community tension. This charter recognises that youth workers are the experts in their field and insist they are consulted.
“They are also asking for common sense when it comes to money, because we know that for every pound that we invest in our children now, we save tenfold on down the line. Belfast City Council ’s endorsement of this charter sends a powerful message that we support our youth sector and that we value our young people.”
The proposal received unanimous support in the chamber. The decision will go to the full meeting of the council this week for ratification.
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