Fears of spike in youth crime and mental health issues due to pandemic 

Youth workers fear the Covid-19 pandemic will cause long-term damage to young people in disadvantaged communities, including mental health issues and a steep rise in antisocial behaviour and crime.

More than one in three (36%) of the workers have reported that years of positive work have been wiped out due to the pandemic. Many are also concerned about the impact of the loss of schooling and the resulting lack of morale and motivation. 

“Covid is accelerating the cycles of poverty, unemployment, and lack of education that we have been working so hard to interrupt and break for so long,” said one youth worker in Limerick.

The findings are included in Generation Pandemic published today by the Irish Youth Foundation (IYF), which includes a survey of more than 300 youth workers supporting more than 35,000 young people in disadvantaged communities. 

It also includes indepth interviews with a representative sample of youth workers and young people living with disadvantage.

Carried out by Amárach Research in April and May, it found that nine out of 10 youth workers believe that mental health is by far the biggest challenge for young people now. 

Isolation and lack of structure

The workers believe this has been exacerbated by extended periods of isolation, inactivity, the lack of structure and safe spaces. 

More than 40% said they are concerned that disadvantaged children have spent the past year in inappropriate housing conditions, often dealing with drug or alcohol abuse, with little chance of getting away.

Youth workers also said they are extremely concerned about the effects of lost schooling, an issue reiterated by many of the young people interviewed. 

As well as school being a safe space for children at risk, youth workers worry about the loss of morale as a result of school closures and that young people's long-term aspirations have regressed. 

School refusal is a big issue, according to one youth worker interviewed. "The thought of returning to school is spiking anxiety.”

Another youth worker said: 

For so many of the kids we support, the most negative factors in their lives became the only factors in their lives.

Another anonymous youth worker told the study: “For every hour they are in the youth project with me it is an hour they are not being groomed by gangland criminals.”

Society is facing a potential generational timebomb ticking away out of sight, behind the headlines about the health crisis and the daily Covid-19 number, according to Lucy Masterson chief executive of IYF. 

The IYF is particularly concerned about the quiet children who may not be "red-flagged" by State services but who may be dealing with challenges such as bullying, overcrowding, or digital poverty under the radar, she added. 

“But, there are practical and easily implemented solutions like the provision of more safe space where kids can congregate and meet their youth leaders, which can help avert a major future crisis for these kids.

"We just have to act now.”