The achievements of young people and youth providers in Liverpool will be celebrated at a special awards ceremony next week.
Liverpool City Council has teamed up with housing associations Cobalt Housing, LHT, Plus Dane Housing, Riverside and South Liverpool Homes to recognise young people in the city that have gone the extra mile and made a real difference to others.
Councillor Steve Munby, cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said: “Like many local authorities, we have suffered severe budget cuts, putting many services under threat, including youth provision.
“To mitigate the impact of these cuts, we have joined forces with the not-for-profit sector to help maintain essential services. By pooling our expertise and resources with housing associations across the city, we’ve been able to maximise opportunities for young people by setting up a number of youth consortiums.
“These awards aim to recognise the positive impact of these consortiums and the achievements of the young people who have contributed to them.”
Sophie Heneghan, community engagement officer for Riverside, which heads up the Liverpool East Youth Consortium, added: “All too often young people are given a bad name, which is completely at odds with our experience. So we are delighted to be able to support these awards which celebrate the valuable contribution young people make to their community.”
Catherine Simmons, team leader for LHT, which leads on nine youth consortiums in the city and has helped sponsor the celebration event, added: “Over the past year, we have witnessed some real changes in young people’s lives and met some really inspirational youths. Although these are challenging times in terms of funding, it shows what can be achieved when housing associations, Liverpool City Council, youth providers and young people work together. These achievements are something we can all be proud of.”
The categories are:
• Reducing Crime
• Reducing NEET (not in education, employment or training)
• Strengthening Families & Communities
• Wellbeing and Resilience
• Improving Mental and Emotional Health
• Improving Physical Health
• Young Volunteer of the Year (young person up to aged 24)
• Inspirational Young Person of the Year (young person up to aged 24)
The event will take place at 30 James Street on 17 February.
