'I'm really worried about the next two or three years, it's scary times' The youth workers making a lifetime of difference to Belfast's most socially challenged children
Youth workers in Belfast have called for greater focus on helping young people, rather than demonising them for incidents over the summer.
"The main thing for us is for the kids to make a friend - all the history stuff is good and important, but making a friend from a different community is more important than any of that," he told Belfast Live. He said he saw what had happened with outrage over recent pro-IRA songs being sung at the Feile festival in West Belfast and that it was something their cross-community youth work tries to address.
"I think we were together and I think there's still parts together there but we need proper leadership, a bit of tact, sensitivity and care for each other," he added."We are one community but divided and I think people are playing on that and I don't think our politicians are providing us with any leadership."People aren't trusting each other, they're fearing each other and feeling threatened by each other and I think that's quite sad.
"If it's the Feile or the Twelfth, it's about accepting that those are things that some people celebrate.Talking to Belfast Live, Pierce and Donovan are organising items that have been donated ahead of an international trip to South Africa for young people at the R City youth group, who have been through a longer programme of work.
Pierce McConnell has seen the value that broadening the horizons of young people with travel and cross-community work can have first hand. He backs up that call for longer term funding arrangements, so youth workers can really plan programmes properly rather than making do with whatever comes to hand."Young people can be a product of their environment, if you're constantly surrounded by negative things and issues, then sometimes it's easier to get sucked into that and be a part of that.
"But the other one is that they can look around and see the negative role models in the community who don't work, but have the best houses, cars, shoes and holidays because they might be involved in selling drugs or other illegal activities.
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