Editorial: Youth work needs the voluntary sector

From one person overseeing a youth club in their local church hall to large-scale organisations employing hundreds of people, the voluntary sector has a key role to play. But, especially at grass-roots level, it is increasingly feeling a little downtrodden.

Anecdotally, the workload, expertise and demands are increasing to a potentially crippling level. At one time, a voluntary sector youth worker might have spent their mornings catching up on management and administrative tasks before returning in the evening to supervise club sessions. Now, they are increasingly dragged into numerous multi-agency meetings and steering groups. A morning spent planning merges into an afternoon of meetings followed by an evening of youth work. It's a long day by the time the last young person is sent on their way.