{"id":2785,"date":"2020-05-05T22:38:33","date_gmt":"2020-05-05T22:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sayfc.org\/sayfcembark-2-2\/"},"modified":"2020-05-07T19:57:26","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T19:57:26","slug":"youthlink-warning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sayfc.org\/youthlink-warning\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland\u2019s Youth Work Sector Leaders issue stark warning as organisations report immediate loss of \u00a320 million"},"content":{"rendered":"

Youth work leaders in Scotland have issued a stark warning to national politicians and local councils as a new report shows an immediate funding loss this year of \u00a320 million to the sector, with predictions of further losses of tens of millions post lockdown.<\/p>\n

The warning comes at a time when youth organisations are bracing themselves for an impending youth mental health crisis as a result of months of isolation for Scotland\u2019s young people.<\/p>\n

In a financial survey of all Scotland\u2019s national youth work organisations, which does not include local authorities, the current income loss due to Covid-19 is just over \u00a320 million.<\/p>\n

Although the sector has welcomed the \u00a3350 million made available to councils and the third sector to deal with the emergency response, a majority of national youth work organisations have struggled to access these funds and now face an uncertain future.<\/p>\n

National volunt\"\"ary youth work organisations include: Scouts Scotland<\/a>; Prince\u2019s Trust<\/a>; Girlguiding Scotland<\/a>; LGBT Youth Scotland<\/a> and YMCA Scotland<\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n

The sector is warning ALL political parties to ensure significant investment into the youth work sector to support young people as we tackle this unprecedented crisis. Further cuts, sector leaders say, would put Scotland\u2019s recovery from Covid-19 in jeopardy.<\/p>\n

In a separate survey last month, YouthLink Scotland<\/a><\/strong> asked our nation\u2019s youth work sector leaders about the impact of Covid-19 and their immediate response to the pandemic. The respondents to the survey represent youth work organisations and services across the country, both voluntary and statutory, including all 32 local authorities.<\/p>\n

Scotland\u2019s Youth Work Sector works with around 350,000 young people with a paid and volunteer workforce of 80,000.<\/p>\n

Headline statistics, read the full report<\/strong> here<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n