Youth funding

Gemma Dillon
The Politics Show
North East and Cumbria

If the Chill Zone wasn't here I would be hanging out on the streets... Jak Mobberley

Extra government cash is on its way for youngsters, but is it cash that will stop youths hanging around street corners with nothing to do? Or is the answer in the hands of youths themselves? We meet Jak to give his point of view...

Jak Mobberley, 16-years-old, goes to the Chill Zone in Stockton.

His friends and he secured £70,000 to create and design their very own café - the Chill Zone - based in the middle of Stockton.

They chose what they wanted... right down to the sofas and carpets.

Jak and his friends are also involved in running the centre and decide on the type of activities they want.

"They wanted a young person's consultation group," he says.

"They wanted young peoples' views on what activities they wanted to do within the youth café.

"We wanted a central place to hang out and get advice. So we went to Edinburgh for two nights to visit a successful young peoples' café, to get ideas.

"They did break dancing and arty things, and the prices were really cheap. We've tried to do a similar thing but ours is better.

"I came up with the ideas for the chairs in the café bit and the sort of lights we wanted.

"If the Chill Zone wasn't here I would be hanging out on the streets... there wasn't much for us to do round here but now we can come to the chillzone and get involved.

Some youngsters explain what they want from organised activities...

"There's activities like dance classes, arts projects and computers to play on at the Chill Zone.

"It's helped give me confidence. Now when I'm hanging out with people and they try to push you to do things you don't want to I know when to say no."

This is a model of what the government wants to see more of - new projects designed and run by young people themselves.

From 6 May 2008, the government has promised that £190m will be available to youth projects across the UK.

Moreover, for many young people in the North East, the extra cash cannot come soon enough.

Provision of youth facilities is, at best, patchy across the region with some popular youth clubs facing closure because of lack of funds.

Stanley not funded

How starved of cash for youth is the North East?

Take the "Activity Den" in Stanley, County Durham.

More than 200 young people regularly use it, but that level of support may not be enough to stop it closing.

It offers young people a wide range of activities from karate to music classes.

It has given lots of young people in the area the chance to do something they would not have otherwise had the chance to do - and kept many of them out of trouble.

Organisers of the Den say it needs £63,000 to repair the leaking roof and to redecorate.

Durham County Council, say it will cost much more, and do not want to pay.

If the centre cannot raise the funds for the repairs and the lease of the building in the next few months, it will have to close.

The Youth Opportunity Fund and Youth Capital Fund have made £115m available, nationally, for projects such as these in Stockton, since 2006.

They hope the extra funds, available from May 2008, will help create more opportunities for young people.

The Politics Show on Sunday 20 April at 1200 BST

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