Magna’s call for youth club volunteers

1/19/2011

Magna West Somerset Housing Association is appealing for volunteers to help run youth clubs on its patch.

The youth service in West Somerset is facing substantial cuts as the county council addresses government cuts in public spending. It is understood that clubs across the area could be under threat of closure.

Now, Magna is backing the call by professional youth workers to train volunteers to help run the clubs from the end of March. The association hopes residents will step in to fill the breach.

Tony Murray, Magna West Somerset HA director, said: “Any cuts in the youth service are bad news for our tenants and the local area. We do not support them - our primary concern is the well being of our local communities and to ensure our tenants’ children receive this much-needed service.”

Magna’s tenant services manager Christine Boland said: “West Somerset ranks highly on the social deprivation scale for housing and services.

“We have worked in partnership with statutory and voluntary agencies for a number of years to support activities for young people in West Somerset and this is a seriously retrograde step.

“The youth service plays a vital role in role in giving young people something to do and it helps to reduce anti-social behaviour. Closing youth centres and withdrawing funding for youth workers will have a significant impact on our tenants and communities in rural West Somerset.

“We really hope we can help lessen the impact of these cuts with staff and residents getting involved in running these much-needed youth clubs.”

If you are interested in working at a youth club in West Somerset and would like to know more about training, please email fjolley@somerset.gov.uk