Young people in West Dunbartonshire have been able to tap into a Youth Trust to fund a range of activities and projects and it will be the young people themselves who help decide how the cash should be allocated.
The Youth Trust, which is funded by the Scottish Executive's Better Neighbourhood Services Fund, is just one aspect of the West Dunbartonshire Youth Strategy. Launched on 7th October 2004 in Clydebank Town Hall the strategy aims to help young people achieve their full potential.
Young members of local WDC youth forums and Y Sort-It helped draw up the five-year strategy which was devised by West Dunbartonshire Social Inclusion Partnership, West Dunbartonshire Council's Community Learning and Development department, Communities Scotland and community representatives.
The strategy outlines key themes which young people from Clydebank to Balloch want to see addressed. These include tackling crime, improved employment and learning opportunities, health issues, housing and homelessness and the development of more youth-friendly leisure facilities. The agencies which pledged to support the strategy recognise that young people in West Dunbartonshire are often at a severe disadvantage in terms of health, education and job prospects. Councillor Andy White, Chairman of the Community Planning Partnership said: 'The youth strategy co-ordinates the work of a number of different and agencies in relation to young people and maximises the resources available.'
'From the start we made sure that the strategy was fully informed by young people and the issues they see as important.'
'And it will continue to ensure that young people are directly involved in the decision-making process and in the development of services in the future.'
'By 2009 we hope to see the services that already exist being more accessible to young people and new facilities and resources being made available to improve the general lifestyle for the youth of West Dunbartonshire.'
The new strategy also includes a Youth Charter which identifies the rights and responsibilities of young people. It also brings together a variety of existing structures and services including youth development services, youth information, youth representative structures and a Scottish Executive initiative called Dialogue Youth.
Download Youth Strategy Document