Report warns one in ten young people 'cannot cope with day-to-day life' (From York Press)

Report warns one in ten young people 'cannot cope with day-to-day life'

12:59pm Wednesday 2nd January 2013 in News By Haydn Lewis , haydn.lewis@thepress.co.uk

MORE than one in ten young people in York, North and East Yorkshire feel they cannot cope with day-to-day life, a report published today has warned.

The Prince’s Trust Youth Index reveals that young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) are significantly more likely to feel unable to cope than their peers.

The report, based on interviews with 2,136 16-to-25-year-olds across the UK, shows how more than one in five young people or 22 per cent living in the Yorkshire and Humber region did not have someone to talk to about their problems while they were growing up.

The charity's fifth annual Youth Index – which gauges young people’s wellbeing across a range of areas from family life to physical health – shows NEET young people are significantly less likely to have had someone to talk to about their problems.

Jonathan Townsend, regional director of The Prince’s Trust in the North of England, said: “A frightening number of unemployed young people in Yorkshire and the Humber feel unable to cope – and it is particularly tough for those who don’t have a support network in place.

“We know at The Prince’s Trust that it is often those from the most vulnerable backgrounds who end up furthest from the job market. Life can become a demoralising downward spiral - from a challenging childhood into life as a jobless adult. But, with the right support, we can help get these lives on track across the region.”

According to the research, NEETs are significantly less happy across all areas of their lives.

Long-term youth unemployment has been on the rise, with the region seeing a 385 per cent increase since the beginning of the recession.

Richard Parish, chief executive of the Royal Society of Public Health, said there was a “worrying discrepancy” between young people in work and those who are not, and said unemployed young people needed support.

Last year, The Prince’s Trust worked with more than 4,700 disadvantaged young people across Yorkshire and The Humber. Three in four young people supported by the youth charity move into work, education or training.