Projects
Services for young adults
Young adults in Britain are "the neglected generation", facing the brunt of the country’s social problems without adequate support from state or voluntary services. Government initiatives on crime, social exclusion, education and training are all threatened by the absence of suitable, basic health and welfare services for this key group.
Our report, Sidelined: young adults' access to services, shows that:
- 10% of 18-24s were on a means tested benefit in Spring 1999. Amongst those in employment, one third were paid less than £3.85 per week in Spring 1999. Over two thirds of children living in families where the mother is aged 16-24 are in the poorest 30% of the population.
- Young adults living independently are far more likely to be the victim of burglary or violent crime than other age groups. Households where the head of household is under 25 are three times as likely to be burgled as households on average. Young lone parents are the most vulnerable group in the whole population, and are particularly vulnerable to repeat victimisation.
- In 1998, the suicide rate among young men was about 10 per 100,000. The attempted suicide rate for young males has doubled since 1985. Figures for 1996 indicate that 1 in 5 young homeless people were found to have attempted suicide.
- 90,000 teenage conceptions each year lead to 56,000 births in England. The UK rate is three times that in France and six times the Dutch rate. The poorest areas of England have teenage conception rates six times higher than the most affluent areas.
The report concludes that:
- The needs of young adults are much wider than simply employment, education and training, which tend to be the major focus of government attention. They also need practical and emotional support, particularly associated with the transition from living with their parents to living independently.
- Government policy needs to truly encompass the needs of those in their early twenties, as well as teenagers: at 18 years, 90% live with their parents; by 25 years, 75% live independently.
- Services need to be specifically designed for young adults, as many of them are currently discouraged from accessing services which are in principle available to them because they feel uncomfortable with the style of these services.
In summary, "Young adults have fewer general advocates, generate less sympathy, and actually have weaker rights under the law than either children (for example relating to care and support from the state), or other adults (for example relating to benefit income and housing provision) ... Young adults are a low priority group for statutory service providers, particularly housing and social services. The design of statutory service provision generally fails to reflect the particular needs which are common in this transitional phase."
The report recommends that young adults should be a specific target group for health and welfare services. Based on analysis of a series of case studies, it suggests that services which have an open access policy often work well, and that policy makers should place greater importance on ‘one-stop’ services which can deal directly with a range of common problems, whilst referring young adults on to more specialist services when required.