Grassroot Youth Group “begging for scraps” for funding, says leader

A Haggerston youth group has vowed to be financially self-sufficient after “begging for scraps” of funding from local government.

Ergel Hassan, CEO of YOH tells the Hackney Post that they are having to change the way they operate due to the inconsistency of government funding over the last twenty years.

YOH is based in Haggerston and helps young people across East London through creative and educational activities, including sports, plays and group projects.

Funding alternatives part of their new strategy includes charitable donations, as well as training other organisations to deliver their vital work.

The group, which was founded in 1999, came about during a critical time when youth services were in decline across Haggerston, according to Hassan.

Across London, youth groups have shrunk by a third; over the last decade and in Hackney, the Council has also cut its investment in youth services by 16% between 2016-19.

Because of this, Hassan says YOH has experienced “a growing need for support that’s not been met”. He says that funding opportunities have “reduced dramatically”, and that “difficulty [in securing funding] is increasing every year”.

However, demand is only increasing; YOH has tripled the number of bursaries that it gives to its members to go onto achieve qualifications in the last 24 months.

Hassan criticised the local government, saying they are “more interested in selling how Hackney is a good place to live to middle class people [and] almost hiding the problems that exist”. Caroline Woodley, Hackney’s newly elected Mayor, did not include increasing funding for youth services in her electoral pledges.

Many of the young people that YOH helps are living in poverty, which Hassan says is the “root of most evil”. A lot of people are vulnerable, suffering with mental health issues: “I can’t explain to you how many...young people have been assaulted or abused in some way. We have to firefight because the people we represent have some really dire needs.”