Community-based youth work facing increased demand and funding challenges
/This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 30th July 2025
A report from Youth Scotland has found youth groups are struggling to deal with increased demand, reduced income and delayed funding decisions.
Youth Scotland has more than 600 member organisations which provide support to 133,000 young people across the country. As with other community organisations, youth groups have faced increased demand following the pandemic and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
With this increased pressure, the report shows that 79% of youth groups surveyed rank funding as the main challenge facing their organisation. 97% said it limited their ability to deliver more of their work.
This demand means community-based youth groups are providing vital support such as hot meals and warm places. "We are feeding a minimum of 20 young people each week," said one respondent, while another commented that “We are seeing lots of young people come in very hungry and needing to eat."
This support has come at a time of increased costs for the sector, with high energy prices and rising staffing costs, along with a decrease in commercial income and donations. "I have to spend more time seeking funding to simply pay the bills,” said one youth cafe manager.
One respondent said: "We are waiting until June or July for [funding] decisions that should have been made before the financial year… At what point do we need to start scaling down our service?"
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