‘We’re on a cliff edge’: the struggle to keep youth services alive in Knowsley

“I feel like I’m failing because I can’t reach everyone,” said Toni Dodd, the centre manager at Karma in the Community, a youth service in Knowsley on the outskirts of Liverpool.“I’ll go over and get kids hanging outside the shops, bring them in, but it’s who am I not reaching? It just takes one thing and they’re on that track into crime, into drugs. There are kids going into school on ketamine. I do all I can but it’s so hard to keep it open and running, and you can’t meet the demand there is.”Young people in Knowsley don’t have it easy. Research by Social Investment Business (SIB) and the University of Leeds shows that of all local authorities in England, it has the most youth work “black holes” – areas with high need in the form of deprivation and antisocial behaviour, but few or no youth services.Knowsley chartThe borough also has no A-level provision for its students, who are forced to travel into Liverpool or neighbouring council areas to continue their studies. Although improving in recent years, it still has the lowest GCSE pass rate in the UK, with 23% of students achieving grade 5 or above for English and maths in 2023-24.Dodd says it is “on the ground floor” services such as theirs that are essential to keep young people on track. Based in Huyton, they reach hundreds of children a year with youth clubs, camping trips and popular kickboxing classes that have waiting lists because demand is so high.Nathan Orr, 19, started coming to the centre aged eight and now works as a kickboxing coach, travelling the world with his skills. He said having access to the service saved him, teaching him discipline and respect and giving him a sense of belonging.Nathan Orr coaching at a kickboxing class at Karma in the Community. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Guardian“I compare myself to other lads my age, I think there’s a lot of people doing the wrong things because there’s just not much going on in communities,” he said. “Youth clubs used to be local, they used to be on every estate and you were never more than a 10-minute walk away. Now it’s too hard for people to get to them.”He said schools were tough – full of “bullying and people picking fights” – and that navigating life after school was a minefield.“About two years before I was about to go to sixth form, they shut it. So I had to go somewhere else for college, which was quite daunting, being with new people and feeling like you were starting again. It puts people off, I think,” he said.Like elsewhere in the country, many youth clubs in Knowsley have closed their doors as funding has been cut. According to SIB, the neighbourhoods around Kirkby are some of the worst affected areas of Knowsley – effectively youth work black holes.Residents say the impact is stark. Merseyside police often put “dispersal zones” in place in the area in response to youths causing criminal damage, threatening people, using drugs and driving large quad bikes. Officers issued a plea to parents last weekend to speak to their teenagers about bad behaviour.Knowsley council received government funding last year to help “rebuild local youth service leadership” in the area, and SIB said its research showed the need to funnel money into the areas with the highest needs.The youth services that remain in the borough say they don’t know how much longer they can keep going. The Boyzee at Halewood Youth in Community Centre has been opening its doors to young people for almost 60 years. It began as a boys’ club in 1968 and is now open to all, but the name has stuck.It has weathered some tough times, such as in 2018 when its two senior staff members halved their salaries to keep things running. Like Karma in the Community, a recent Youth Investment Fund grant – via SIB – helped to revamp the centre. Before, the building was so run down that staff would have to run over in the middle of the night when it rained to catch leaks, but they’re still struggling with daily running costs.“We’re on the verge of going off a cliff because of the lack of revenue funding,” said Mark Nelson, the operations manager and senior youth worker. “We’ve got funding until the end of March, but if we don’t get more, I’d say we’ve got a maximum of about four months before we close.Mark Nelson. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Guardian“Capital investment has been really, really beneficial to the centre, but a short sharp fix is not what we need, we need something sustained.”A cacophony of noise at 8.30pm on a Tuesday evening shows the service is more popular than ever. Boys play football while a group of young women do an exercise class next door. Others mill around doing crafts, playing pool or chatting.“There are severe levels of social deprivation around here, and the issues which come with that, like antisocial behaviour,” said Nelson. “But we’re the only dedicated youth provision in the area – and I’m not talking sports centres and football clubs which are great, but there’s often costs involved.”Dawn Corrie, a senior youth worker, said: “There used to be more clubs around, and we have watched them go under over the years.” Most of their young people are local, but some cycle over from neighbouring towns because there are no suitable clubs near them.“I get angry because why are we staying awake all night and stressing, just to pay our wages basically, which is not a great deal,” Corrie said. “Jesus Christ, I could be working here for 60 hours a week and only get paid for 30. I’m knocking on doors for people to come in and do a couple of hours, just so we can open up to the kids.”