Youth work initiative continues to grow

Parish councils in Horsham pledged to support services for young people and a team of community youth workers was employed by Horsham Matters under the initiative.

The Youth Hub Café at Upper Beeding Baptist Church, in Church Lane, is one of the success stories, along with youth clubs being set up in Steyning, Pulborough and Ashington.

Alcohol awareness lessons have been run at Steyning Grammar School, with help from some of the youth workers, and romance academies are being planned, raising awareness of sexual health.

Cllr Sue Rogers, Horsham District Council’s cabinet member for a safer and healthier district, said: “What the Horsham Matters’ youth workers have achieved for the young people in our district is really outstanding.

“It is really encouraging to see groups of councils working together for the benefit of the young people in their communities. Another benefit of working with a local charity is that it has enabled additional funding to be raised for young people’s activities.

”In these financial times, it is more important than ever to come up with new and fresh ideas to continue to support young people and the ideas that are being put into practice are very exciting and I look forward to seeing how this scheme progresses throughout the district.”

Steyning, Upper Beeding, Ashurst and Bramber formed one of the five neighbourhood and parish groups who started working together last year to provide support for young people in the district.