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growing yorkshire’s future since 1904

As Yorkshire’s youth work charity, we’ve been working with young people since 1904.

Working across the county, we provide a wide range of opportunities for young people, from fun activities to life-changing skills development.

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120 years of innovation

The Youth Association’s history stretches right back to the early years of youth work and our long story of survival is made up of thousands of successes, failures, experiments and innovations, told by generations of young people and youth workers.

In all that time, the important things we believe about good youth work have never changed; we call that being ‘progressive but rooted’.

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Our Stories
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At The Youth Association, we believe in the power of purpose-driven youth work to create meaningful change for young people.

We focus on impact, aiming to make a difference and leave a lasting legacy of positive change wherever we work. All our programmes are underpinned by a Theory of Change that demonstrates how our activities lead to transformational outcomes for young people.

Our programmes
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Most of our work is based around six key programme areas, or ‘themes’.

Our themes are growingly being recognised as premium services across our sector, offering well-thought-out, impactful programmes of work, underpinned by theory, delivered in the most effective ways by trained and experienced youth workers.

Mental Health

We use youth work as a tool to provide mental health support to young adults, in a way that is both distinct from medical approaches and distinct from interventions used in formal education. The programmes involve a blend of one-to-one and group work, using challenging and developmental activity to take young adults on a transformational journey. Our mental health work is theoretically underpinned, with an accompanying Theory of Change that guides our practice

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StreetSafe

StreetSafe reduces the likelihood of young people engaging in crime and violence, in spaces where other services struggle to reach. Our StreetSafe projects take place in some of the most deprived communities where youth crime, violence and child criminal exploitation pose a significant threat.

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Voice

We have a long and strong tradition in youth voice, youth involvement and co-production and it remains a priority for us. We place great value on participant voice as a key element of any authentic person-centred project. Our youth voice work, delivered in a range of settings, increases young people’s power & influence in society, through expression of their views & representation of their interests

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Youth Work Training

We train and accredit youth workers to nationally recognized JNC levels of qualification – we are also among only a select few to currently do so. Youth work training is not only important to our mission and history, but it is a potentially strong area for growth of income and reputation

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Future Man

Future Man supports boys and young men to explore masculinity, strengthen positive identity, and develop healthier attitudes and behaviours. Through trusted youth work relationships, we create safe spaces for honest conversation, reflection and support, helping young men navigate pressures, challenge harmful narratives and make informed choices

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Her Future

Her Future empowers girls and young women to build confidence, strengthen self-worth and develop the voice to challenge inequality and make informed choices about their lives. We build trusted youth work relationships and safe, supportive spaces, where we help young women explore issues that affect them, develop confidence in who they are and feel able to speak up for themselves and others.

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Our Corporate Sponsors

Clarion Housing Group

Bartlett

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