CEO’s Thoughts (July Newsletter)

28 July 2021

Welcome to July’s newsletter.

As we enter the summer months, Berkshire Youth is delighted to be providing summer camps, safe spaces and opportunities for young people to get engaged and be active.

We have seen over many years the division created by various agendas and public statements, but the saddest part of all is that the gap between the rich and the poor is getting bigger. We still have no agenda nor strategy for youth work, no-one asking the question of local authorities, and no real challenge as to how we close the gap. This should not be about levelling up political priority areas whilst abandoning others, we should all be looking to create better opportunities for all young people, giving young people the chance to work in well-paid jobs and having access to affordable homes – creating independence. Poverty is the one thing that holds all the poor in their place and, whilst we fight about who has what and where, don’t we forget the outcomes of poverty?

Please, please let’s ask our parliamentary representatives for a youth strategy, what the policy for reduction of poverty in your local area is, and how we can give our young people the best possible chance in life. This is not all the responsibility of schools, this has to be a wider and more intelligent conversation.

We are really excited about the summer and looking forward to a successful and empowering programme for the communities supporting their young people.

Thank you for reading!