Organisation: Prudential 4 Youth, Tyne and Wear Issue The need for a youth centre
The situation: Young people were hanging about the Galleries shopping centre and incidents of antisocial behaviour committed by young people were increasing. When invited to discuss the issues, young people said there wasn't enough provision for them and that they were continually being moved on from one area to another. The young people formed the Washington Youth Group and identified a suitable location. What children and young people said
"Young people can get intimidated into doing things to harm our community. This can be reduced if there is some place for us to go."
What's changed? "The Washington Youth Group has helped many of us and some of us are training to be youth workers and going back to college. Although some of us are now older and will probably not attend the group as members, we will be helping out and know that younger people will have somewhere to go, instead of hanging around." Since the formation of the group, police statistics have shown that youth nuisance and criminal damage committed by young people reported to the centre management of the Galleries has decreased by approximately 70 per cent.
Every Child Matters outcomes Making a positive contribution; enjoying and achieving
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