Young People’s Project

The Law Centres Federation with funding from the City Bridge Trust started a Young People’s Project in the autumn of 2006. Working in partnership with Youth Access, the Project’s aim is to make sure that every young person in London has access to the legal advice they need.

The Law Centres Federation with funding from the City Bridge Trust started a Young People’s Project in the autumn of 2006. Working in partnership with Youth Access, the Project’s aim is to make sure that every young person in London has access to the legal advice they need.

Groundbreaking work is already being achieved with Streetwise Young People’s Law Centre in South London, Streetlegal based at Islington Law Centre, and dedicated young people’s solicitors in Kingston & Richmond and Thamesmead (now Cross Sreet) Law Centres. Many Law Centres are engaging with young people and their issues through specific education projects, and through social welfare work.

The situation in general, however, is that whilst many young people need legal advice they don’t access it. Youth Access research shows that young people are seven times more likely to experience homelessness problems but eleven times less likely to get advice on those problems than other age groups. Young people do not access mainstream adult service for a variety of reasons, from lack of awareness to mistrust of adults. Specialist provision is needed to effectively meet young people’s advice needs. This includes delivering advice in young people friendly settings, training professionals working with young people in identifying legal issues and establishing good referral networks.

Project Manager, Mandy Wilkins is currently travelling around London Law Centres, to hear about the work carried out, learning about the needs of young people, mapping existing provision and gaps, and starting working together on strategies to bridge these gaps.

The Young People’s Project offers Law Centres:

  • Project planning and development support
  • Signposting to funding
  • Training on working with young people and involving them in service delivery
  • Networking with Law Centres and youth agencies through the London Youth Advice Forum
  • Best Practice Policies and Procedures on working with young people
  • Advice and Information on public policy relating to young people
  • Increasing the profile of Law Centres engaging with this work

    • Already, there is great potential for future initiatives, including:

  • Joint work between Streetwise Law Centre and the Law Centres in South London aiming to expand legal advice for young people across South London
  • Supporting Streetlegal to thrive in North London and spreading young people’s access to legal advice across North and East London
  • Linking Law Centre education projects across London to share good practice
  • Focusing on young homeless people in Lambeth
  • Focusing on young asylum seekers in West London
  • Focusing on young mental health service users in Paddington and Wandsworth
  • Raising awareness across Law Centres of the Age Discrimination legislation’s potential impact on young people
  • Working with organisations supporting young people with disabilities to raise awareness of the Disability Discrimination Act.

    • Rights Within Reach

    ‘Rights Within Reach’ by Mandy Wilkins and Pamela Verma is a joint Youth Access/Law Centres Federation publication putting forward a blueprint for delivery of high quality outreach legal advice services to young people in youth settings.

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    Read the Report here April 2009.pdf