Back Youth Alliance calls for investment in young people’s mental health and wellbeing

The Youth Potential Fund would use the new funding to:

• Access multi–year revenue grants to expand local clubs and activities, especially in underserved communities. This’ll focus on improving provision that’s already having a positive impact on young people’s physical and mental wellbeing.
• Invest in outdoor learning opportunities and adventures away from home. This includes a programme of training and development to make sure instructors can support young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
• Develop a programme to build better local partnerships and integration between sectors supporting young people. At the same time, it’ll look nationally to understand how different partnership models have an impact. Better joining up of provision and investment will make sure young people (especially those most in need) are aware of and can easily access support services and opportunities.
• Access investment to train 10,000 more youth workers and 30,000 more volunteers, and give them important skills. This’ll help them run the new clubs, activities and outdoor opportunities we need. There’ll also be a focus on recruitment, training and continuous development for these workers and volunteers.

This investment and support would target underserved areas and people affected by long–term economic decline. It’ll focus on data, evidence, and ‘what works,’ as well as ‘powering up’ partnerships and provision for young people.

By doing so, the investment can create sustained, high-impact, and meaningful change for young people.

It’ll be delivered by a coalition of leading youth organisations who, together, reach every area of the UK.

Since there are established routes to local, grassroots organisations, funding can flow quickly to where it’s needed most.

• The Youth Potential Fund will greatly impact young people and local communities. Post–pandemic, young people are facing bigger challenges than ever to their mental and physical health, resilience and skills for life, and employment prospects. In July 2021, one in six children aged 6–16 were identified as having a probable mental health problem – a huge increase from the already troubling one in nine in 2017. There are concerns around specific groups of young people and the fund would make sure they’re reached. For example, 67% of girls and young women aged 7–21 feel more sad, anxious or worried as a result of the pandemic, and 72% of girls aged 11–21 know girls and young women their own age with anxiety disorders.
• It works well alongside existing Government spend on young people. It would create collaborative and coordinated changes for young people by focusing on scale and reach. The upfront investment from Dormant Assets is a unique opportunity to improve provision for young people, creating a lasting legacy.
• It’d create change by the sector and government collaborating, led by people who understand the current challenges, are able to use match funding to maximise its impact, and feel ambitious to transform the sector for future success. It’d use existing networks to expand and accelerate life–changing opportunities in the places that need them most.
• It’ll focus on expanding provision by using data and evaluation. This’ll include creating a common data set, using the data to come up with new approaches to understand its outcomes, and building consistent models and practice.
• It’s one use of new Dormant Assets funding, created with young people and thousands of youth organisations represented by the Back Youth Alliance. It’s different, but works well alongside other uses of this funding, such as a Community Wealth Fund.

In 2008, the scheme was launched to redirect cash from long–forgotten bank accounts to good causes. Since then, it’s been expanded to include other dormant financial assets, such as pensions, insurance plans and investments. So far, the dormant assets scheme has given out just under £900m to charities and social enterprises.

At the moment, the government is consulting on plans to give more than £700m of the dormant assets programme to charities and social enterprises in England. Our proposal is part of this.

There are three 'good causes' currently:

1. Youth
2. Financial inclusion
3. Social investment

So far, all of the Dormant Assets money for the 'youth' good cause has gone to the Youth Futures Foundation.

You can read about the Youth chapter of the consultation.

We’re encouraging everyone to respond to the consultation by completing this short survey by Sunday 9 October 2022.

We’re also hosting online engagement events on Monday 5 and Thursday 8 September, where you can find out more about the consultation and the Back Youth Alliance Youth Potential Fund. If you're interested, register for an event.