Youth clubs struggle to stay relevant in the age of social media

“We’re in Faraday Ward in Southwark, which is the most under-served ward[of the county],” he says. “One in five young people has a mental health problem, there are high levels of marginalization and almost 3% of young people are not in education, work or training.”

It took Saisei and his team eight years to open, but the service is growing quickly. With more than 200 juniors on its books, it is available weekdays and will soon welcome people on weekends.

It has a mixed funding model to help tackle crime, with funding from the Home Office, from corporate bodies to the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit.

Mentivity is in a healthy financial position compared to other youth groups, but it lost nearly half a million pounds in funding last year due to what Sayce says is a growing anti-diversity and equality movement.

Sayce is determined to beat the drum for youth spaces: “We need to create villages, we need to create communities.”

“When services go backwards, there’s a certain lack of trust for adults. They bring that distrust, that anger and frustration back into society,” he says.

“When you’re disappointed in your youth and now you’re heartbroken that you don’t have this youth club, you’re willing to go to other areas just to fill that void.”

Oh, and he’s not worried about the term “youth club.”

He said, “You can call it what you want, but here they are.”

“They’re voting with their feet so we’re not precious around what it’s called, it’s about how they feel when they’re here.”

Top image credit: Getty Images