Young people in Lancashire living in 'second lockdown' due to cost of living crisis.
We're being told that across Lancashire young people's development is being arrested by the cost of living crisis
Last updated 27th Nov 2023
There is concerns that young people across Lancashire are living through a 'second lockdown' due to the cost-of-living-crisis.
This comes as 24% of 11-18 year olds in the North West have stopped out-of-school activities like sport, dance and seeing friends because of the cost-of-living crisis – as families divert funds - new figures from Generation Isolation and YouGov have found.
The study also found that two thirds of young people are concerned about the cost-of-living-crisis.
Youth centres were found to provide a way out of some of these challenges with 81% of kids surveyed in the North West saying they had helped them.
James Masraff is the CEO of national youth charity OnSide, who run Blackburn and Wigan Youth Zones. He says this generation are facing more challenges than ever before:
"This is a generation that is more concerned about the future than we would normally expect them to be.
"You'd expect them to be living in the present and not worrying about their families finances.
"I think its a depressing fact that one in three young people from disadvantaged communities feel they're going to fail in life.
"When they come into our Youth Zones they're coming probably with greater challenges than they have ever had.
"And also struggling to have confidence just to interact with others and just to make friends."
Generation Isolation surveyed 5,072 young people, of which 15% were from the North West, aged 11-18 in England, in partnership with YouGov. Many of the findings are startling, highlighting how the cost-of-living crisis is keeping young people ‘locked down.’