£14,700 APPROVED TO FUND WORK WITH YOUNG PEOPLE IN ALMONDBURY AND DALTON

12.04.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 10th Sep 2008

Cllr Rochelle Parchment (Lib Dem, Dalton Ward)

Outreach workers targeting young people will soon be operating in Almondbury and Dalton wards thanks to £14,700 investment approved by members at Huddersfield South Area Committee.

"Street Scene" - a tried and tested youth work project that has been established in Kirklees for 6 years - will now begin to operate in the two area committee areas to help improve the lives of young people and their relationships with their communities.

Street Scene works with children between the ages of 13 and 19 years old. It conducts its work out on the streets of our communities making direct contact with young people, offering a wide range of support and services including:

- General advice and support

- Sexual health services

- Help to achieve aims and goals in life

- Direction into other existing services to receive support

- Breaking down barriers between with other groups and authority figures

- Benefits and housing advice

Street Scene has also recently been commissioned by Holme Valley South, Home Valley North and Colne Valley Area Committees on the basis of its past achievements.

£11,700 will pay for two workers to run one session a week in Almondbury for the next year. The remaining £3000 will pay for the same provision in Dalton Ward but only for a three month period with an option to extend the arrangement using money from next year's budget when it becomes available.

The investment was approved on the 19th August.

Cllr Rochelle Parchment (Lib Dem, Dalton Ward) says:

"I am very happy that Street Scene will soon be operating in Dalton Ward and Almondbury Wards."

"It will play an important role in reaching out to hard to reach youngsters."

"As a young person it is often difficulty to make sense of all the options that are available to you. If you're not used to getting or asking for help, those choices can even seem more daunting. I think the workers from Street Scene will be able to help some of those young people to get on the right track. If we don't provide help to these groups, we are only storing up problems for tomorrow".

"In Dalton Ward we will be looking to extend the scheme after the three moth period. Due to budgetary restraints we couldn't approve a year's funding straight away".