Cost of living: Rising bills threaten future of youth clubs

Youth clubs are disappearing due to the cost of living crisis, a body representing voluntary youth work in Wales has said.

Two clubs have already closed, Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services (CWVYS) said, as financial pressures put others "on a precipice".

One club, which has served hundreds of young people, said closing would be "horrendous".

The Welsh government said it was continuing to support charities.

Hanna Giles, 35, who regularly attended KPC Youth in Pyle, Bridgend county, as a teenager said she recognised the value of the service to young people in the local area.

"If it wasn't for KPC I don't think I would have had such a good childhood," she said.

"I know a few boys my age that could have gone down the wrong path but they started coming here.

"It had a huge impact growing up. To this day we still talk about the memories we had here."

"There was a dart board, pool table and maybe we'd have a football to play in the car park. They just had the time for you."

She said the volunteers would "sit and listen to whatever problems" young people were having and "look at different ways you can handle a situation".

"If this place were to close it would have a massive effect on this small community," she said. "We need somewhere safe for our children to come and enjoy and be free."

KPC Youth is one of a number of youth organisations across Wales facing an uncertain future.

The charity said its energy bills have almost quadrupled from £90 a month to nearly £350 a month.

"There might come a time where we can't be here, and that really pains me," said KPC Youth's chairwoman, Paula Lunnon.

"I've seen so many young people come through his charity over the years and it's made a difference to their lives."

She said the club is facing a £5,000 bill to insure its skate park at a time when grant funding has become increasingly difficult to get due to the high number of applications for a limited amount of money.

"It's whether we have got the reserves to keep going while we're still looking for different types of funding," she said.

"For the first time in our 25-year history, I'm concerned about the future."

Harvey, 14, regularly attends the club's session for older teenagers.

Without KPC Youth, he said, there would be little else for young people to do in the area.

"It's really good that people are giving up their own time to be here," he said of the volunteers.

"Other than the local library, there's not much else. It's a very big thing for us."

Sofia, 10, said she attends the club almost every day it is open.

"It's quite nice and I've met a lot of my best friends here and the staff are lovely and if I wasn't here I'd probably just be at home on my phone and stuff," she said.

Peighton, 11, added: "It means very much to me because it means I get to spend time with my friends from in school and friends from out of school."

Ms Lunnon said KPC Youth is also helping children's family, opening a food pantry that offers full shopping bags of fresh and frozen items for £5.

This year the club, which does activities, workshops and has a low-cost café and tuck shop, had to increased its entry fee from £1 to £1.50 to try to ease the financial burden.

"Clearly families are struggling and we don't want to do that but obviously we're trying to survive for the longer term while all of this is going on," Ms Lunnon said.

"Some families have got three or four children who come, so for one family it might be just an extra 50p but for others it could be an extra £2," she explained. "If they're coming three nights a week that's an extra £6.

"It's the whole knock-on effect we have to be aware of and I'm very conscious of that."

Alongside the financial pressures, Children in Need said youth organisations were facing increased demand for support, such as dealing with mental health issues.

CWVYS, which represents 145 youth organisations, said many services reported acting as an emergency frontline service providing food, warmth during the winter and ensuring some young people had basics like sanitary products.

It said due to the impact of the cost of living and rising food prices, services have had to increase their food provision - an additional cost.

Stretched finances has also created recruitment challenges as many organisations struggle to offer an attractive salary.

"We've been made aware recently that two voluntary youth services have gone under which is a real tragedy, particularly in the communities that they serve," said CWVYS boss Paul Glaze.

"We really hope that doesn't happen of course but there are some that have been on a precipice for some time particularly due to austerity and Covid and this latest challenge could be enough to tip them over the edge.

"Services are being stretched and so they are forced to find funding from elsewhere," he added, explaining how grants programmes were welcomed, but "very competitive".

"Especially for smaller organisations who don't have the capacity to write bids constantly," he said. "A few hundred pounds will make a difference but only for the short-term.

"What we're looking for is a sustainable response to ensure the organisations continue and also thrive."

The Welsh government said: "We are supporting charities through our third sector scheme which provides extra funding to organisations, in receipt of Welsh government grants, to meet inflationary pressures.

"The review of youth work funding in Wales is under way. We hope the first phase of this report will be published in the summer."