Funding Blow Forces Closure of Caledonia Youth

An Edinburgh charity, which has provided support to young people for 46 years, is to close its doors blaming a lack of funding. Caledonia Youth has also lost a contract with NHS Lothian to provide a specialist clinic. In a statement, the charity said it will stop operating on 31st March, 2015 and 11 people will lose their jobs. The Board of Trustees say they have 'exhausted alternative funding avenues' and have made the difficult decision to wind up the organisation. They said: "We would like to take this opportunity to say how very proud we are of our extremely dedicated team here at Caledonia Youth who have developed and delivered many ground breaking programmes. "They have proved great advocates for tens of thousands of young people, particularly the more vulnerable, disadvantaged and disengaged in our society today. "While we wish we could do more, the focus now is on ensuring our young clients are supported through the closure, as there is a dearth of service provision. "We too experience waiting lists for our services. "We will do our utmost to ensure they are connected with an appropriate organisation, although that will possibly mean a different level of assistance".