May 2009
Deprived youth hit hardest by recession
Thousands of Britain’s poorest youngsters will
bear the brunt of the recession, warns a report published by
The Prince’s Trust and ESRC Centre for Giving and Philanthropy,
Cass Business School.
Young people will be hit hardest in deprived areas as
unemployment rises and local youth services become vulnerable to
cuts, according to the report. It warns that youth charities
may be unable to keep up with demand, as their services face
spiralling demands from disadvantaged young people. Read the
full report
- More than 450,000 under-25s in the UK currently claim
Jobseeker’s Allowance. This figure has risen by more than 80% in
the past year alone, costing the state more than £23 million per
week in Jobseeker’s Allowance.
- One in six young people are already claiming Jobseeker’s
Allowance in some areas of the UK, including Merthyr Tydfil, South
Wales and Wansbeck, Northumberland. This figure has risen to one in
five young people in Blaenau Gwent, South Wales.
Vulnerable young people will suffer where need
is greatest, as youth charities struggle to keep up with demand
during the recession. The Prince’s Trust alone needs nearly £1
million a week to continue its work. Any loss of investment will
have a huge cost to the future of the country.
- Professor Cathy Pharoah,
Co-Director, Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy at Cass
Business School
said:
Britain’s most vulnerable youngsters will be
permanently damaged by the downturn, unless they receive the
support they need. We need to help young people into jobs – only
with their ideas and creativity will we be able to pull ourselves
out of the recession.
-Martina Milburn, chief executive,
The Prince’s Trust
Key findings:
- Youth charities struggle to attract funding from the public
despite their “immeasurable value”, according to the report. Animal
welfare charities receive five times more donations than charities
helping young people.
- Youth causes’ income currently represents just 1% of the
voluntary sector’s total income of £48 billion, capturing just 1.5%
of private voluntary donations.
- Charitable trusts’ donations to youth charities would fall by
nearly £8 million if funds were to drop by just 3.8% in 2009, as
predicted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the UK
economy. Nearly a third (30%) of companies expect corporate giving
to fall in the recession, putting further pressure on services for
disadvantaged young people.
Million Makers
The report coincided with the launch of a major public
fundraising campaign from The Trust, aiming to raise thousands
to help young people into jobs.
The Trust is
calling on UK plc to sign up to the Million Makers challenge, raising £1
million to help the next generation of British entrepreneurs.
Million Makers is challenging 100 companies to run their own
mini-enterprises to raise as much money as possible for
The Trust.
Increasing demand
Calls to The Trust’s helpline at the start of this year
increased more than 50 per cent compared with the same period last
year, with Business Programme enquiries rising 65 per cent.