Wasted youth? June 2008

Tracie Trimmer-Platman is Senior Adviser at London Youth, a vibrant network of more than 400 youth clubs serving 7,500 young people a year in the capital and at two outdoor centres in Buckinghamshire and Sussex.

"Ask any young person how they feel about their community, and chances are they’ll tell you they are proud of the environment they live in, that they’d support their home turf to the end.

There’s no doubt that where young people live is very important to them.  It helps form their identity and is part of how they label themselves.

Young people who meet on street corners, sit on walls, outside shops, in parks, and so on, are often just claiming their piece of public space in which to ‘hang out’. Unfortunately, young people are also often seen as problematic – damaging the foundations of community and responsible for giving an area a bad reputation.

Communities often describe young people as ‘territorial’, and even youth workers sometimes find breaking into street groups difficult. The perception is that this behaviour is tribal, based around ‘neo-tribes’ which exist in ‘wild zones’ and ‘hot spots’ – communities created exclusively by and for young people. Indeed, studies on teenagers suggest that the street is often the only autonomous place that young people are able to make their own.

The collective behaviour exhibited by groups of young people claiming public places as their own, can cause conflict between them and adults, leading to battles for the space from both sides. In fact, quite often, noisy but harmless behaviour is perceived as disruptive, threatening and anti-social or ‘lowering the tone’ of the neighbourhood. Yet for the young participants it is often just about having fun and being with people who understand you.

It is likely that the adult perception of young people as violent and disruptive can subliminally encourage them to behave in unacceptable ways. In the government’s recent ten-year strategy for positive activities, Aiming High for Young People, young people are quoted as saying things like: “We offered an old lady our seats on the bus but she refused, giving us evils because one of the boys was wearing a hoodie, the hood wasn’t even up.” Or: “Of all the young people in newspapers, TV and radio, none of them represent any of my friends, or any person I know.”

With the nationally recognised acceptance that there is a need to provide young people with positive activities in quality buildings, there should also be some thought given to community ownership and respect for young people. London Youth has recently managed an innovative community project, which resulted in a shipping container full of sports equipment being secured in a local park in Newham. Sadly, at the launch, a local councillor was overheard cynically saying to another: “It’s a shame but all the stuff will be gone by the weekend, either burnt to a cinder or stolen through the windows.” As it’s turned out, the project has proved a huge success.

Young people are thriving and benefiting from the opportunity to take part in diverse sports activities as well as managing and overseeing the container. They have ownership of the equipment and the resource, and through the support and intervention of competent youth workers they ensure that the space is looked after, well used and respected. There is a lesson here for the media, community cynics and councillors alike."

To find out more about London Youth visit www.londonyouth.org.uk