TEENAGERS are hitting back at a decision that might cut £400,000 of funding to deliver youth work.

At a meeting of Brighton and Hove City Council’s policy and resources committee in December 2014, councillors considered a budget and savings report for 2015/16.

The report includes a proposal to end the £400,000 commissioned contract for the delivery of work with community and voluntary sector youth work organisations, which would effectively end the work of the Brighton and Hove Youth Collective (BHYC). BHYC was founded two years ago.

One teenager, who gave his name only as Taylor, 15, said: “There isn’t exactly loads of stuff to do when you’re out of school so coming here makes a big difference.

“We cook and eat together, we run a tuck shop and do stuff we wouldn’t get to do otherwise, like go-karting.”

“Youth Work isn’t teaching and it isn’t social work but it is very important that young people have a relationship with older people which is a non-power relationship but where they can receive guidance in a physical and emotional space to explore and work on what is going on in that young person’s life. Over the last 30 years Youth Work has changed a lot but its principals are the same.”

An ever-increasing number of teenagers are taking advantage of activities being run in some of the most deprived areas, such as Moulsecoomb, Whitehawk, Tarner and Hangleton and Knoll.

Last year, the Youth Collective worked with more than 2,500 youngsters in the city, with young people attending its youth centres and projects 31,500 times.

Adam Muirhead, youth work coordinator at the Trust for Developing Communities, one of the BHYC partners, said: “What a difference two years can make.

“I’ve seen such a huge swell in the things that are on offer for 13 to 19-year-olds locally in spite of the financial climate, and so much of it due to the dedication of the community and local services working together.

“Fundamentally, things to do and places to go are great in a community where people have fewer opportunities.

“Youth Work seeks to go far beyond those things and bubbling beneath what the public often see is all sorts of work on unemployment, mental health and child protection, delivered by skilled, trained staff.

“We are really hoping, for the benefit of the city, that our work can continue long into the future.”