The impact of COVID on Young People and Youth Services in Devon
Lockdown and social distancing measures are hard for everyone, but especially hard for young people
Schools, colleges, youth clubs and open spaces are all closed. Restricted movement is putting young people in greater danger. For some, home is not a safe place. Increased levels in domestic violence, drug and alcohol consumption, loss of income, combined with the lack of usual safeguards and support, mean that young people are at significant risk.
Young people are really struggling with social isolation - Read Erin’s story here…
Erin is a year 11 student. She normally volunteers and uses the Exmouth youth club as a 'safe space'. Her friends go there and she gets a lot out of coming to the youth club normally. She is feeling quite lonely, “not having the usual face to face support is scary”. She has lost her job and is worried about how to afford things like phone bills - which is stressing her out. She's having major worries about how boredom will affect her mental health over time in this lockdown.
Local intelligence from multi-agency meetings is showing that there's a general pattern that in-home violence is starting to rise. Young people are becoming more nocturnal. Eating habits are skewed. Nationally there is an increase in adolescent suicide.
Calls to domestic abuse helplines have risen significantly since lockdown
The NSPCC has seen an almost 20% rise in calls since the start of the coronavirus lockdown from adults concerned about child abuse. The NSPCC fear lockdown could be intensifying abuse as schools and other spaces remain closed.
In Devon, the regional support charity for victims of domestic violence and abuse, Splitz, saw a 62% rise in the number of people needing their help in the first 3 weeks of April.
Up to 35% of jobs in parts of Devon are at risk due to Covid-19
West Devon, the South Hams, Torridge, Torbay and East Devon are all in the top 20 local authority areas with the highest proportion of jobs at risk as a result of the crisis. Meaning nearly 51,000 jobs could be at risk across the county.
Young people due to start apprenticeships are experiencing increased anxiety, as are many young people who are seeing return to school as pretty scary after potentially being off for so long.
James told his youth worker that he had lost all hope for any future aspirations and said “there’s no point in doing anything”. James is a practical learner and had been looking forward to starting an apprenticeship in September. He’s worried about his qualification results being based on coursework that he didn’t complete, now that exams had been cancelled.
Many of Devon’s local economies are geared around tourism, with a high proportion of jobs in accommodation, food and drink services and retail. Four of the 20 small town areas in the Country with the biggest losses are in Devon: Barnstaple, Bideford, Kingsbridge and Dartmouth.
Young people’s needs had been amplified by the pandemic
The NYA have released a new report, Out of Sight? which says that unless urgent action is taken to support vulnerable children and young people, whose needs are often unseen, the long-term damage caused will be “unimaginable”, Leigh Middleton, NYA CEO warned.
The report, which focuses on those aged eight to 19, highlights three main concerns:
Increased mental health problems: Over a million young people have self-reported mental health issues. There is a spike in calls to Help Lines, with 84% reporting worse mental health following school closures or being no longer able to access mental health support
Missing from education: With schools only partially open and youth centres closed, as few as 5% of young people are currently engaged in school and have limited or no access to youth work. Even when schools reopen there are 700,000 young people persistently absent or NEET (not in education, employment or training)
At risk, at home: Over a million young people are at risk from any of the so-called ‘toxic trio’ of addiction, mental health, and domestic abuse. Despite this, child protection referrals have plummeted by 50% in some areas, increased mental health problems, those "missing from education" and those at risk from the so-called "toxic trio" of addiction, mental health and domestic abuse.
We adapted our Youth Services quickly, moving them online to support young people remotely
At Space we recognise that those self isolating, or just following the Government’s advice to stay at home for extended periods of time could leave young people and families feeling isolated or under pressure. In order to try and provide additional options of support for young people during social distancing, we have adapted our services, where possible, for us to be able to reach out to young people who would have had the routine and/or safety net of a youth centre and all the opportunities it brings for connecting with others and talking with a trusted adult. We still believe young people need:
Somewhere to go
We created online youth clubs using a platform called Discord, where young people can interact with others in a safe (moderated by youth workers) environment, chat to each other and engage in fun activities.
Erin has been helping Space develop online services for young people. She said “it’s great to be able to talk to friends and youth workers on Discord” and that “it’s comforting to know I can still volunteer online”. “The Discord server has been great and you can still have chats with friends and talk to youth workers in a safe and secure place”. Erin and the other Space volunteers have helped make a video explaining the digital services to young people.
Something to do
Youth workers were running activities via social media and in the virtual youth clubs, as well as using group video chats for specific topics.
Someone to talk to
We created a call-back service where Young people can request one to one contact from a youth worker, if they needed to discuss anything, were struggling and wanted support or just needed someone to talk to.
Scott, (16 years old) was devastated after finding out he wouldn’t be able to finish his exams this year, he said “I wanted to prove to my Dad that I’m not a failure”. His youth worker has arranged ongoing regular support. Scott said: “It’s helped to know there is a grown up that wants to help”.