Businesses urged to help disadvantaged youngsters in Birmingham

Birmingham 's businesses and city leaders are being urged to support efforts to help disadvantaged young people after research revealed that local youngsters are facing significant challenges in accessing youth, housing and mental health services.

The Voice of Young People project by Digbeth-based charity Sport 4 Life UK, which delivers sports-themed personal development programmes to youngsters from across the West Midlands, commissioned the study earlier this year.

Two thirds of people surveyed were worried about their future job prospects and nearly half had reduced or stopped socialising since the pandemic.

On top of this nearly all, at 89 per cent, were worried about the cost of living crisis, while 29 per cent didn 't know where to seek advice about mental health.

Sport 4 Life UK 's researchers spoke to 388 people aged between 11 and 29 years old around the country, in addition to convening a youth panel made up of youngsters from the Greater Birmingham area.

Following the findings, Sport 4 Life UK has written to West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with a series of 'asks ' that were developed by the youth panel.

The asks centre around recovering funding for youth services in real terms to pre-austerity levels, a regional trial of a universal basic allowance for 18 to 25-year-olds to remove housing precarity and allow youngsters to focus on their careers, and a joined up campaign across all sectors to promote better mental health support access.

Full details of Sport 4 Life 's research can be found here and the charity is asking businesses to study the findings and consider getting involved with work to help disadvantaged young people in our region.

Tom Clarke-Forrest (pictured), CEO and founder of Sport 4 Life UK, said the study highlighted a need for action from all levels of society.

“We are working hard to help youngsters to grow skills and confidence, preparing them for work and life opportunities. But there are so many people out there who are not getting the support they need thanks to a lack of resources and services.

“It 's clear from our research that many youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds are being held back by additional factors beyond their control, such as the cost of housing and transport. We need policymakers and businesses to come together to tackle this, as doing so will deliver immense benefits for society and our economy, including reduced crime and health inequalities, ” he said.

Sport 4 Life UK is asking businesses to help share its research online, in order to help raise awareness of the problems facing young people and participate in the charity 's ambitious interventions to support those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

To access the research and learn more about its findings, please visit their website.