Youth Zone: Cost of living leads to young people needing more ‘time to talk’
Blackburn and Darwen Youth Zone will be taking part in this year’s match funding Big Give Christmas Challenge which will help raise funds to support mentoring programmes that will enable the delivery of “Time to Talk”, which is a specific project supporting young people aged 5 – 19 (or 21 with a disability) and responding to young people’s individual needs/priorities it will mainly target those disproportionately affected by the cost of the living crisis.
The Youth Zone is seeing that the cost of living crisis has meant young people are struggling with their health and well-being. The Youth Zone is seeing first-hand how poverty and wealth, or lack of it, affect mental health and the well-being of young people. has increased, with poverty, fuelled by the cost-of-living crisis, a major contributor. The Youth Zone reported that 56% of young people reported high or very high feelings of anxiety. Mental health concerns, including anxiety, depression, low mood, suicidal ideation, self-harm, and disordered eating, accompanied by the added pressure of low income and rising costs, and the pressure on young people and their families are heartbreaking.
Leon Crosby Director of Operations said:
Over 6-month, ‘Time to Talk’ will provide flexible support, responding to young people’s individual needs/priorities. ‘Time to Talk’ has been co-designed with young people and industry professionals to ensure we have a complementary and collaborative approach, to addressing needs increased through the cost of the living crisis. Young people will receive a support plan specific to their needs. The plans could include interventions, 1:1 support mentoring and targeted group work.
Blackburn and Darwen Youth Zone have launched the Big Give Christmas Challenge fundraising campaign, ‘Time to talk for young people. It provides matched funding for all donations received between November 29 and December 6.
The charity has asked people to ‘save the date and the link’, with every £1 doubled by The Big Give. They have a £30k target.
To donate, visit the website here.
