30 Jun 2025
Whether it’s being part of the COVID generation, the impact of computer gaming and obsession with social media, the hike in university fees or the lack of funding for decent youth work, but our young people certainly seem to be going through it.
Those organisations working with young people in St Albans today have revealed their opinions and key concerns about the availability of support for youngsters, and what can be done to improve the situation.
Counselling charity Youth Talk has provided confidential counselling and psychotherapy to young people aged between 13-25 years old for more than 26 years.
Chief executive David Barker said that too many young people are struggling with overwhelming anxiety, low mood, self-harm, and pressures around identity, relationships, school, and social media: “We’re seeing the impact of these challenges every day at Youth Talk – and for many young people, the weight of it all becomes too much to carry alone.
“Here in St Albans, Harpenden and the surrounding areas, Youth Talk offers a lifeline. We provide free, confidential counselling to 13–25-year-olds in a space where they feel safe, heard and respected. Last year we delivered nearly 5,000 clinical sessions to over 420 local young people – many of whom told us it was the first time they had truly felt able to talk about what was going on for them.”
But services like theirs are under increasing pressure. Youth Talk recently lost £72,000 of funding following Hertfordshire County Council’s decision to move to a single-provider model. This risks reducing access to trusted, local (close to home) support in favour of larger-scale, more generalised services.
He said: “We are deeply concerned that some young people will fall through the cracks as a result.
“While the Government says it is investing in mental health, we simply aren’t seeing those promises translate into the kind of support young people really need. There is too much reliance on digital solutions and short-term programmes.
“Counselling takes time. At Youth Talk, we support young people for up to a year if needed — because we know trust and healing don’t follow a deadline.
“We need to stop talking about quick fixes and start backing the local services that young people trust and value. That means strategic, long-term investment in early help, face-to-face support, and community-based organisations like ours. Anything less is simply letting our young people down.”
Founder and CEO of Cottonmill-based youth club and charity LeeAnna’s Wish Shelley Hayles said: “Our local young people tell me that they are concerned about a range of issues such as mental health, boredom, lack of opportunity, school exclusion and they worry about their parents.
“I am still seeing school fear post-pandemic with anxiety around germs and toilets, for example.”
Shelley said that a multi-agency approach is essential to effectively address anti-social behaviour in teens, because it allows professionals from different sectors – such as education, social care, health and policing- to tackle the complex root causes through coordinated support.
She added: “However, many agencies are reluctant to work in partnership due to conflicting priorities and organisational objectives, poor communication, limited resources, and lack of trust. Without a change in current practices the most vulnerable of our young people will continue to be failed.”
Local youngsters who use the services LeeAnna’s Wish provides spoke out about the challenges they faced.
Darcie Pointer, 17, said that young people need help with school and their mental health generally. She said that “spaces to actually do activities” are important because some young people will feel restricted and have to “try and make their own fun”.
Darcie added that she knows that young people don’t feel comfortable to go into school and ask for help and thinks it would be easier if there was somewhere out of school to help them do that.
She said that she doesn’t feel there are places young people can go to to get support with their mental health if they feel they are struggling.
Hannah Clarke, also 17, agreed with Darcie’s comments and said that it is difficult for young people to admit they need help and many feel scared to ask.
And other pressures are also becoming evident, with the chief executive officer of Herts Young Homeless reporting that the organisation saw a 13 per cent increase in young people facing homelessness last year.
Jonny Whitehead said more than 2,800 young people in Hertfordshire approached their local authority to say that they were homeless: “And the biggest single cause of that is family breakdown.
“This can happen for various reasons, including mental health challenges, abuse or violence in the home, or clashes over a young person’s sexuality.
“We are seeing an increase in all of those as well as a worrying rise in groups targeting vulnerable young people leading to criminal activity or sexual exploitation.
“Sadly, the funding is not available to enable us and other organisations to support every young person facing these issues and break the cycle of youth homelessness. We were able to support over one thousand young people last year, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.
“What we need now is the funding and resource to meet the increased need and to grow our vital services.”
It really is a huge worry for parents and professionals across our district and it affects everybody if our young people are not being supported.
The St Albans Times is keen to hear from other organisations or individuals who wish to shine more of a light on this crisis. Please contact us if you want to tell your story.
