Young people supported by CashBack for Communities share their pandemic perspectives and look to the future.
Two years of the Covid-19 pandemic have created exceptional challenges. For those young people in Scotland who were already most disadvantaged – the group targeted by the CashBack for Communities programme – lockdown created many additional hurdles.
Those hurdles were highlighted recently when 850 CashBack young participants shared some of their experiences of the past two years with the CashBack delivery team at Inspiring Scotland.
The young people participating in the survey spoke powerfully about the increased challenges they have faced, particularly around mental health, accessing local services or joining online support networks.
Because of these difficulties, for many, programmes delivered by the CashBack funded partners were a lifeline.
As well as dwelling on their pandemic experiences, the young people involved also expressed their aspirations for the future. From expanding their social networks after lockdown, to opportunities to gain new life skills or qualifications, very many were looking forward to a return to normality after two years of exceptional difficulties.
These valuable survey inputs from young people have been shared with CashBack partner organisations and the Scottish Government to help influence current and future support programmes. The CashBack for Communities delivery team at Inspiring Scotland would like to thank the partner organisations who helped gather feedback, and most especially the young participants who contributed.
To read the full report, click here: Young People’s Survey.