To: Youth offending team . Child welfare services . Southend council . District police
Youth Centre for Southend
Provide a youth centre for the young people of Southend like Focus Youth Centre, which we used to have.
Why is this important?
I feel that the age group between 11 and 17 are becoming really bad in the Southend area due to a mix of things: Drugs, County Lines gangs pressured into doing things they don't want to do, along with many other bad things that they shouldn't be subjected to.
I feel that if we had a building with the right people in there - some from support work backgrounds, people that can provide confidential one-to-one or even group sessions - we would be able to offer real support and advice to the local youth.
I'd say there are a lot of vulnerable people out there that won't speak out or seek advice. But having the right place to make those people feel comfortable, where they can come down and get involved in activities such as indoor football/pool tables/computers/films etc. along with educational programs and access to help and guidance for a better life future to be pointed in the right direction would be beneficial.
Of course each person would be monitored inside assessed spoken to. It would be a place where they can open up with no judgement and give them the best possible advice for moving forward - and when anything severe arises or that is a big concern, information can be collected and passed on to the right department to look into and solve.
In reality when one young person is in a bad place and at a loose end they won't seek help via adults services as they feel they will get into trouble or look weak. Whereas going through as what they would see as a mate at the centre a fun understanding normal day to day person that they build a repor with outside of the public service ie uniform .
Give young people a safe environment and they will open up. Provide the right services and people - social workers/mental health assessors/job centres and advisers - to help find work and get on the right track, supported by friendly staff and in a space where they can enjoy themselves (with games etc.)
It's all about our next generation. And as we can all see, the up and coming generation seem to be increasingly lost too soon, with no interest in drive or progression in life.
