I'm a KFC youth worker. Young people aren't a lost cause – we're failing them at the first hurdle

As a youth worker, I’ve seen firsthand how much a safe space can change a young person’s life. Offering someone a space to be themselves feels like a basic ask, yet against the bleak backdrop of the current situation, we are failing young people at the first hurdle.

The number of youth clubs in the UK has more than halved, down by 56%, in the last 15 years. Now, new research from the KFC Youth Foundation has found two million young people across the UK (40%) have no access to a safe space outside their home and school.

Youth clubs provide young people so much more than the opportunity of somewhere to go, they offer them the chance to belong. At the KFC Youth Foundation Middlesborough Youth Hub, we’re committed to creating a safe, inclusive environment where young people feel able to be themselves, supported to try something new and confident enough to find their voice.

Read more:

• NEETs crisis: How did one million young people fall off the career ladder?
• NEET numbers fall but young people still face jobs crisis: ‘This is not a turning point’
• ‘Everyone wants a job and it’s a nightmare’: What it’s like to be a NEET young person in Britain

It all starts by making the space feel like it genuinely belongs to the people who use it every week. Their artwork is on the walls. The youth council they lead.  Their ideas shape what happens next – and their voices are heard.

That sense of ownership, alongside the trust young people build with familiar volunteers and youth workers, is what makes the space so much more than its four walls. It lays the groundwork from which confidence, friendships and new experiences can take shape.

And the impact is undeniable. So why are so many young people being left behind?

I am tired of being told young people are disengaged or a lost cause. The current NEETs crisis is proof that we are systemically failing the younger generation. Stripped back youth services mean we’re expecting young people to be thriving citizens in our society all without investing in their foundation.

The hub is proof that these vital services do so much more for young people than just offering a place to be. We see people arrive nervous, unsure where to stand or who to talk to. Weeks later, they are making friends, trying new things and growing in confidence. They discover their creative flairs, are introduced to role models and can unlock aspirations for a future they didn’t even know was possible.

We must meet young people where they are. We must show them how much space they have to be themselves, to allow them to build community, to encourage them to invest in their future. Being available is one thing, but being genuinely accessible is another. We need to show up consistently, take the time to listen and make young people feel valued.

Which is why this week, the KFC Youth Foundation and KFC have launched the Room to Be Me campaign – where £1 from every KFC Sharing Bucket sold will fund safe spaces for young people across the UK.

But we are one organisation. If we are to solve this crisis we must act as a society to get behind our younger generation before it is too late. They are our future leaders. It’s about time we take them seriously.

Ellie Smith is a youth worker at the KFC Youth Foundation Middlesburgh Hub. The Room to Be Me campaign builds on the KFC Youth Foundation’s 11 years of providing wraparound support for young people from all walks of life, including delivering more than £10 million in grants to community youth projects across the UK&I and KFC’s pre-employability programme Hatch, which helps young people outside traditional employment and education take their first steps into work.

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