Embrace unashamedly the therapeutic qualities and benefits of youth work to young people and communities

Young people have experienced serious distress and disruption due to the recent pandemic, leaving mental health issues at an all-time high among this group. Open access youth work, a method of social and personal learning for young people, is often undervalued and displaced, yet is well suited to facilitate therapeutic intervention and support to young people in informal settings. Open access youth work enables strong associations, friendships, support, and openness to discussing young people's mental health issues and feelings across social and economic divides. By creating open, non-judgemental yet challenging space for young people under the supervision of qualified and experienced practitioners, their worries and observations about life can be accessed, discussed, shared and demystified. Serious and diagnostic illness can be reported and referred, with low moods and depression managed by the young people themselves. A great deal of public space is underutilised, and it may be time for places such as schools and colleges to be seriously considered as potential enablers for youth workers to do what they do best.