London,
05
November
2015
|
17:38
Europe/London

Reshaping youth support services [VIDEO]

We have launched a boroughwide consultation on reshaping Camden's youth support services.

This consultation would deliver savings of £1.6 million but would also help us better support those young people who need and will benefit most from our services. We are proposing to redevelop three of our Council-run youth centres so that young people who need additional help - for example, because of deprivation or disability - can receive a broader range of support in one location. These three centres would be:

  • Somers Town Youth Centre, 134 Chalton Street, Somers Town, London NW1 1RX
  • Fresh Youth Academy, HNTCC, 25 Bertram St, Highgate, London N19 5DQ
  • Kilburn Youth Station, 20-22 Kingsgate Place, Kilburn, London NW6 4TA.

If adopted, these proposals will mean fewer Council-run services for all young people, and some services will reduce or stop:

  • South Camden Youth & Connexions Access Point in King’s Cross would close. Youth support services here would relocate to Somers Town Youth Centre, in Somers Town
  • Gospel Oak Youth Access Point in Queen’s Crescent would close. Youth support services here would relocate to Maitland Park Gym and Fresh Youth Academy, in Highgate
  • The Seven O’Clock Club for disabled young people would move from Pirate Castle to one of the three redeveloped youth centres.

We are also proposing to:

  • stop funding the COO-L project but make it easier for young people to find out about low-cost activities in Camden that are already partially funded by us
  • make changes to the Youth Action Group (YAG) and continue to work with members of the group to improve youth support services
  • reduce the Connexions service, but it would still run in our three main youth centres and would also be provided directly by Camden schools
  • stop funding the Under 25s Advice Centre but we would work with the voluntary and community sector to continue to support the young people who currently use the Under 25s Advice Centre. We would also continue to provide welfare rights support to young people through the Connexions services in the three centres.

Find out more and have your say:

  • Take part in the online consultation
  • Download a consultation document from this page or visit the consultation web page.
  • You can also share your thoughts on our proposals using Voxup - a quick way to tell us what you think. Just follow the link, vote for or against, and/or write a comment. Your responses are posted online immediately. The first time you visit Voxup you will be asked to enter a postcode and email address and will be sent a verification code to enter.

Community meetings to find out more and have your say, plus other key dates:

  • Tuesday 24 November, 7 to 8pm: community meeting at Somers Town Youth Centre, 134 Chalton Street NW1 1RX
  • Tuesday 1 December, 7 to 8pm: community meeting at Kilburn Youth Station, 20-22 Kingsgate Place NW6 4TA
  • Thursday 3 December, 7 to 8pm: community meeting at Fresh Youth Academy, HNTCC, 25 Bertram St, London N19 5DQ
  • Friday 8 January 2016: youth support services consultation ends
  • Wednesday 6 April 2016: Cabinet decision on changes to youth support services.