The National Youth Agency: My Place

In this series we look at a range of generic and specialist youth facilities to encourage ambition and vision in support of Myplace bids, linking each to one of the programme's ten key principles.

Devon Youth Service mobile provision

Key principle: Community cohesion - providing opportunities for young people to build relationships with others from different backgrounds and encouraging and improving intergenerational relationships.

Devon Youth Service operates a fleet of five mobiles with the most recent joining in March this year. Two further mobiles are currently on order. Mobile provision in Devon has been widely seen as beneficial to young people and particularly in reducing levels of crime and antisocial behaviour. Police in Exeter reported that incidents of alcohol-related trouble among young people had significantly decreased - by 30 per cent - as a direct result of mobiles being deployed in the evenings during school holidays. The fleet gives the youth service flexibility to reach those young people who find it difficult to access youth provision, particularly those who live in rural areas. Young people often bring their younger siblings with them and, as a result, one of the mobiles is working in partnership with district play rangers who can run activities for the younger ones. It is hoped that this will increase and provide a seamless transition in mobile provision for younger and older young people. Increasingly, older young people training to become youth workers are involved as volunteers.