Young People – Our Greatest Assets

By Edmund McKay - KDS Head of Care

An article in Tuesday’s Herald caught my eye, titled “Plea to keep young out of jail” it informed us that the respected Howard League for penal reform has written an open letter to ministers, with the backing of Children’s Commissioner Tam Baillie and a range of leading public sector figures, calling for a reduction in the use of prison for young, with the subsequent savings invested in early-years work, liaising with parents, and youth projects to help prevent offending.

It was interesting but not surprising to read that those we lock up are, by and large, poor and vulnerable and we lock them up in huge numbers compared to other EU countries. Furthermore, we lock up the same people time and time again.

In the letter Mr Scott said: “The way to stop so many of our young people ending up in jail is to actively support and care for them, to invest in them, their families and their communities, and if they do end up in prisons to support them from the moment of release.

Of course reading this, my mind immediately jumped to what we at KDS are already doing and achieving with the vulnerable young people we work with. Here are a group of young people who have histories of offending behaviour and were at risk of re-offending, but now because we at KDS have invested time and effort into working with them, because the local authority has invested in the cost of this exciting venture, and because they themselves have invested in attending and participating, their outlooks are brighter, their belief in themselves increased and all are looking at new and exciting futures in the world of work.

Imprisonment is undeniably a blunt instrument which does few any good and does very little to combat re-offending and as Mr. Scott said “The use of prison as a ‘skip’ for those we as a society have not supported and to whom we have denied opportunities is shameful and should not be acceptable in modern society.”

Thankfully KDS is here to help and support our young people.


 

Posted by Unknown on 24 March 2011 in : KDS Training, KDS Youth Training

8 Comments

Posted by Sarahjane on 28 March 2011

Being with KDS has been a real eye-opener regarding the challenges other young people may face, which I was completely oblivious to. However, by being here I also get to see the incredible work we undertake to overcome them.

Posted by stephen kidd on 27 March 2011

I believe we need to put everything into next generation to turn the world around, a lot of talk about reneawable energy, I believe youth should be up beside reneables, its the way to take the world forward

Posted by Alison Gilbert on 27 March 2011

Education for our youths is important but its how we do it that makes the difference. KDS approach works!

Posted by kate on 25 March 2011

The challenges which are affecting young people of today can be overcome and pushed aside with a bit of support, guidance and encouragement! We should all be doing what we can to make this happen! K

Posted by Lynsey Mackay on 24 March 2011

The work that KDS is doing with the Youth Academies is fantastic - the change in the young people is amazing!

Posted by Christine Ovens on 24 March 2011

I agree totally with your sentiments as many youth today do not get a chance in life due to circumstances and it is up to us as peers to believe in them and their capabilites. They are after all our future.

Posted by Steven Hunter on 24 March 2011

Youth development thats what is all about. Youth are the future of our country and we need to start demonstrating some commitmnet to anything that working well to help them develop as adults. Stevie Hunter Training Manager

Posted by Tommy Gray on 24 March 2011

Really do agree here as having young nephews who are going through the life barriers at the moment I can directly see how challenging it is for them when this should be the time when they are flourishing.

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