Health has always been a key ingredient in youth work, right back to the 19th century pioneers in organisations such as YMCA, Boys Brigade, Girls Friendly Society and many others. Their concerns? Young people hanging around or "idleness", excessive smoking, girls getting pregnant at too young an age through ignorance, the impact of poor urban environments and, in particular, excessive alcohol use. Sound familiar?
In more recent times, youth workers (and other staff working through non-formal interventions with young people) have felt under pressure to address these issues because they have become government targets. Because of the nature of the youth work relationship, workers find that young people are raising with them a whole range of health issues. Workers may struggle to find the right response and to see how this fits with their wider service or agency policies.
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