{"id":195,"date":"2014-01-21T16:31:18","date_gmt":"2014-01-21T16:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/nisr\/?p=195"},"modified":"2014-01-29T11:46:09","modified_gmt":"2014-01-29T11:46:09","slug":"new-youth-projects-and-the-general-election-manifesto-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/nisr\/new-youth-projects-and-the-general-election-manifesto-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"New Youth Projects and the General Election Manifesto Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Jonathan Mayes, Newcastle University Medical Student and<\/span> overall winner of the NISR General Election Manifesto Competition<\/a>, writes this blog on his proposal and why he felt compelled to try and tackle the problems associated with childhood poverty. You can contact Jonny with any thoughts or feedback you have by emailing: j.w.mayes@ncl.ac.uk<\/a>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>After receiving an email about entering the competition I initially dismissed the idea. The idea of extra work didn’t appeal. However I saw an NSPCC statistic saying 31% of children in Newcastle are growing up in poverty. I didn’t know what this meant. What does it mean to be in poverty in the UK?\u00a0I assumed that in a developed country that this statistic has no meaning. However I was shocked to discover poverty in the UK means growing up cold, hungry and not being able to enjoy\u00a0activities with friends. Poverty impacts on health, educational opportunities and reduces self-esteem.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2010 the government said it would lower childhood poverty in the UK\u00a0to 5-10% by 2020. At the current rate of increase by 2020 childhood poverty across the UK will be 23-24%, and even higher in areas such as Newcastle. This isn\u2019t one political party\u2019s responsibility and I believe new, alternative and modern approaches are needed. There should be individual, community and national responsibility to deal with these difficult issues in society.<\/span><\/p>\n

New Youth Projects aims to combat childhood poverty across the UK. The idea is to set up buildings located within the poorest areas of the country. Children aged 5-16 from the poorest backgrounds would be actively sort out and invited to join the project. The projects would be open every day after school, weekends and holidays, with high contact hours ensuring lasting and guiding relationships. Projects would offer a range of services to the children all aiming to boost self-esteem, happiness and produce productive members of society. Examples of these include:<\/span><\/p>\n