Young people's right to flourish: A 21st century social justice issue for youth and community work

Abstract

AbstractThis article argues for youth and community work (YCW) to be recognised for its critical role in working alongside young people to enhance their well‐being. We supply amalgamated vignettes as evidence from student's placement practice and explore the value of informal education practices in YCW in more formal settings. We assert that it is important to offer recognition of the distinctive methodologies YCW practitioners employ to enable meaningful engagement with young people. We argue young people's well‐being is a 21st century social justice issue of primary concern to YCWs. Cuts to youth services have led to a crisis in the YCW workforce, which urgently needs to be addressed. Therefore, as a reminder of the ongoing need for young people to be at the heart of integrated and holistic policies, the anonymised vignettes supply reflections on student professional practice placement that take account of their experiences of working collaboratively with schools. Policy makers should seek ways of drawing on YCW student's perspectives and in working to develop parity of esteem with other social professions, create environments in which young people can flourish. This article therefore joins the recent calls from the YCW sector for the need to fund and re‐grow YCW.