Residents Invited to Take Part in Survey on Local Youth Service Provision

Hailsham Youth Service is calling on residents to complete a short survey questionnaire, information from which will be used to further develop youth service provision in the town and ensure that it meets modern needs.

Hailsham Youth Service (HYS), which this year celebrates 25 years of effective operation in Hailsham and Hellingly, has had an impact on the lives of thousands of young people and grown from one operational base at 1 Market Square into an expanded service which operates throughout the local community.

The service, which is funded and managed by the Town Council, provides activities, support services and opportunities for young people in the local area and operates the Square Youth Cafe, Hellingly Youth Hub and Monday Youth Hub sessions on weekdays, in addition to organising a line-up of free and low-cost activities at various locations as part of the ‘Friday Night Project’.

The service also operates a detached (outreach) service on weekday evenings, as well as offering information, support and advisory services for young people experiencing a range of issues such as those relating to mental health, sexual health and unemployment.

One aspect of the service’s growth is the recent decision by the Town Council to move to a new operational hub early next year, which reflects the changing expression of youth work locally and nationally and provides a better resource to meet the developing needs of a growing town.

Taking part in the short survey will help to change the way Hailsham Youth Service provides activities and opportunities for young people in Hailsham and surrounding areas.

The survey can be completed online via the home pages of the Hailsham Town Council and Hailsham Youth Service websites. Your thoughts, views and ideas would be highly appreciated.

“Hailsham Youth Service is expanding in the level of support being given to young people throughout the town,” said Deputy Youth Service Manager Joel Cottingham. “We are hoping that, with enough support from the community, we can move into a new setting which will better reflect the variety and quality of provision needed by Hailsham’s growing population.”

The Mayor of Hailsham has commended Hailsham Youth Service for providing young people with ample activities in a safe environment to help keep them occupied when not at school, and for the dedication and enthusiasm of youth workers.

Cllr Paul Holbrook commented: “For nearly 25 years, Hailsham Youth Service has improved the quality of life for local young people in the town and surrounding rural villages. Such benefits have been achieved through the integrated provision of recreation, opportunities for personal and social development, information and advice.”

“Starting in 1999 with the opening of the service’s first facility – the Square Youth Cafe in Market Square – the service has since set up further facilities including the Hellingly Youth Hub and Monday Youth Hub. Add to this, the wide range of recreational activities offered through the Friday Night Project and strong links forged over the years with other agencies, inclduing Halsham Community College, Knockhatch, Freedom Leisure and Sussex Police.”

Cllr Holbrook added: The development of the Town Council’s youth projects since its launch proves that there are ample opportunities for developing partnerships with other agencies to provide innovative work with individuals or groups of young people.”

“The service’s aim to relocate core services to a brand new, larger operational centre will no doubt help to provide a significantly richer resource to refelct the growing local population and increased need for additional service provision well into the future.”

“For this reason, I would encourage everyone to take just a couple of minutes of their time to complete the online survey. Your assistance is much need and is greatly appreciated.”