YMCA works with over 14000 young people each year from over 120 sites across Scotland. This contact and engagement with young people teaches us so much about the stresses and strains and challenges of growing up in 2010.
It is vitally important that this experience is communicated to policy makers to influence effective engagement and support for young people in Scotland. One of the important roles for YMCA Scotland is to represent the movement nationally and to contribute to the formation of policy and the informing of such policy development from our practice base.
Over the past few years this engagement has included the following:
• Parliamentary hearings organized by young people at Holyrood engaging senior politicians from all parties in face to face discussion of a variety of issues and aspects of their lives
• YMCA chairmanship of the Chief Officers group of Voluntary Organisations within Youthlink Scotland (2007-2009)
• Leadership of high level strategic discussions involving multiple stakeholders in the lives of young people sharing new approaches and improving services. (These discussions have involved schools, youth workers, police, social work, childrens panel, licensing boards, funders, press.)
• Development of new partnership approaches with police and social work colleagues seeking to pilot preventative and early intervention methods for vulnerable young people.
• Submissions to government on several relevant policy consultations
• Regular meetings with key politicians and civil servants on issues pertinent to youth work practice and issues effecting young people