A NEW service to provide advice and guidance to young people in North Yorkshire has secured £145,000 in funding.

The Connexions Service for York and North Yorkshire aims to improve a range of services in the area to help teenagers, from 13 upwards, fulfil their potential. Twelve voluntary organisations across the county will share the £145,000 to boost their work with young people.

Projects supported by Connexions, a government service, include York Alcohol Advice Service, which will use the extra cash to pay for a new worker to work with young people who have problems with alcohol.

Rural areas in North Yorkshire are set to receive the biggest boost from the new funding with money going towards extending Nightstop, which provides host families for homeless young people in York, to the Ryedale area. Ryedale Voluntary Action will receive funding to develop a new counselling project including peer mentoring.

Connexions has also decided to fund a Wheels To Work project in Hambleton, which will involve buying twelve new mopeds for young people living in rural areas to use to help them get to and from work.

Two projects in Scarborough will benefit from the service with cash going towards a personal advisor to work with young people at Open Arms, a non-alcoholic bar for teenagers in the town. Scarborough's homeless project Home and Dry is to receive a cash boost to help young people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless get education or employment. Relateen, which works with young people who are at risk of exclusion in the Selby and Harrogate area will receive funding to employ a member of staff to offer one-to-one support and counselling.

Connexions Chief Executive Barry Hitchen said: "A strong partnership with the voluntary sector is vital if we are to make a difference to young people's lives and I am delighted to contribute to such imaginative schemes, tailored to young people's needs."

One of the key objectives of Connexions is to encourage more teenagers to stay in education and training so they can achieve vital qualifications. The service also offers help and information on issues such as drug abuse, sexual health and homelessness.

Updated: 11:11 Tuesday, November 05, 2002