National Needs Survey Reveals the State of the Youth

Earlier this week, we reported on the daunting statistic that six out of every ten children are living in poverty. Today, the Department of Youth Services, under the Ministry of Youth, shared the results of a National Youth Needs Survey which was officially launched at the Biltmore. Director Kevin Cadle of the Department of Youth Services shares some of the findings on the state of the youth.

Kevin Cadle

Kevin Cadle, Director, Department of Youth Services

“Key areas that came out of the survey and one of those key areas have to do with healthcare; young people need more access to healthcare, especially psychosocial care. They say one of the major challenges is needing someone to talk to. They also believe that they are not getting the support from their families, which is significant. Another area is education. Young people are saying that they need access to more educational opportunities; that they believe that in terms of tertiary education and even the ITVETs that they don’t have the support to go there, and they would want that opportunity to be able to go to school and that’s a significant one as well. Another one is the issue of crime and violence. And not just crime and violence, but young people are saying, specifically females, are saying that they are victims of major crimes such as robberies and sexual abuse. That is huge for us to know that we have situations where our females are being targeted with rape and sexual abuse and also being robbed. So we need to look at that and speak with our colleagues in the police department and [Ministry of] home affairs to see what we can do to be able to mitigate some of those situations. Another big area is housing and land. Young people are saying that they cannot afford the cost to rent homes, to rent rooms and they are saying especially in the rural areas that they need access to land, they need land and they need opportunities for land. And finally another area that is significant is the issue of their socioeconomic situation. They believe that they are living in poverty. Most young people are saying that they are not doing well in their lives and they need opportunities to be able to uplift their lives. They are also saying that they need opportunities for job training, more skills based training to be better prepared for the world of work.”