Editorial: Detached youth work deserves more support

A hard-hitting national advertising campaign to deter young people from carrying weapons, coupled with the launch of the Youth Alcohol Action Plan, has reinforced the impression of this nation's children as out of control.

In the background meanwhile, fresh efforts to tackle the root causes of social problems by giving young people things to do and places to go are gathering pace. Many organisations will this summer try to secure a share of the government's £190m Myplace programme for youth centres (see pp20-21). Myplace, part of the 10-year youth strategy Aiming High, is hugely welcome. But not all young people will be inclined to attend a brand spanking new centre, particularly those at the margins of society. Detached youth workers are, in this sense, much closer to what is going on in the community. But the emphasis in the 10-year strategy is on physical buildings rather than taking services to young people. It contains just two passing references to detached youth work.