Tackling today's issues

Over one million young people in the UK are NEET (not in education, employment or training) and the number is not going down despite the government’s attempts to address the problem. Indeed, in the last ten years the number of NEETs aged 16 to 24 has risen by 15%.

Many of these young people live on the margins of a society that they feel excluded from. Growing up in the most deprived areas of the country, they see no future for themselves. All too often they hide low self esteem with aggression, drugs, alcohol or involvement in crime. Often this is all that society expects of them.

Compared to their peers, the young NEETs that we work with are 22 times more likely to give birth under the age of 18, 20 times more likely to commit a crime, 50% more likely to be in poor health and 60% more likely to be involved in drugs.

At Fairbridge we believe that if you expect more from young people you get more. We also know that with the right mix of one to one support and structured activities, young people are able to overcome the issues that they face.