Covid-19 severely impacted provision of services for 'at risk' youths

Research conducted by the National Youth Council of Ireland found that thousands of young people missed out on the supports they would normally receive from local youth services.

A new report on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has found that of the 256 services surveyed, 14% were unable to provide a service during lockdown, impacting on approximately 6,900 young people.

The research report, conducted by the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), also found that the restrictions associated with the coronavirus outbreak here had also impacted most severely on ‘at risk’ youth.

‘A Review of the Youth Work Sector Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic’, produced by researchers Deborah Erwin and Lorraine Thompson for the NYCI, found that thousands of young people missed out on the supports they would normally receive from local youth services.

In addition to the 14% of services who could not operate at all during lockdown, 59% of the services surveyed had experienced a reduction in the number of young people with whom they engaged, with figures falling from 59,822 to 18,391, equating to a drop of 70%. 

Only eight projects saw an increase in engagement in virtual activities during the pandemic.

As to how the pandemic made it more difficult for youth services to engage with ‘at risk’ or marginalised young people, two-thirds of youth workers surveyed said this was a key limitation of the move to online models of working.

According to the research, almost one-quarter of youth projects surveyed experienced difficulties with the switch to digital youth work because young people did not have adequate digital access, while 24% found staff lacked the requisite digital skills.

In addition, 17% of survey respondents expressed concerns about safeguarding mechanisms not being in place for digital service delivery, while 68% of survey respondents cited young people’s reluctance to engage digitally as a major challenge.

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, welcomed the report, saying it highlighted the important and ongoing role of youth services.

There were examples of campaigns which worked, such as the #GaisceAtHome campaign, which encouraged young people to stay active and engaged in their personal development and community action, and Foróige’s ‘Feed Your Body, Fuel Your Life’ initiative.

But Mary Cunningham, CEO of NYCI, said the research indicated more needed to be done to protect at-risk or vulnerable young people from becoming further isolated during any future lockdowns or pandemic-related restrictions.

"Over the past six months, youth workers have shown their creativity, flexibility and commitment in numerous ways," she said.

However, the research shows clearly that – despite the strenuous efforts of youth services – young people who were already most at risk became the most disconnected during the pandemic. 

"Young people already experiencing poverty, for example, became even more isolated.

“The pandemic exposed a whole range of inequalities and exacerbated vulnerabilities in the youth sector. 

"Covid-19 had a compounding effect, whereby online engagement was significantly hampered for young people already experiencing marginalisation in various ways. 

"The drop in engagement levels paints a stark picture and demonstrates just how important face-to-face youth work is, particularly for those in marginalised and vulnerable situations.”

She said funding and investment for the youth sector will be vital in the coming months.

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, welcomed the report, saying it highlighted the important and ongoing role of youth services.