A Merseyside town is ranked among the "saddest" in the country.
St Helens has several areas that are listed among the most deprived in the UK, with almost half of the population among the 10% most deprived, according to the most recent Indices of Deprivation report carried out. As well as this, the ONS ranks St Helens as the ninth "saddest" place to live in the country- based on surveys.
There is no easy fix for the town, with data from 2019 also naming St Helens as the nation's suicide capital- that is, the area with the highest suicide rate. With many becoming disillusioned and simply giving up on the idea of a rejuvenated St Helens, it would be easy to brand the former industrial powerhouse a lost cause, however, many believe the town can be "saved".
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The ECHO spoke to residents of St Helens, as well as shoppers and workers in the town centre, to see their view on which areas need the most "love" and action taking to turn things around, as well as what they think needs to be done in those areas.
We headed off into the town centre on a Thursday morning and the first shopper who stopped to chat was a woman who says she has lived in St Helens all of her life and seen it "die". She told the ECHO: " There is no comparing the town now to what it was in the 1990s and even the early 2000s. It is like a ghost town now so I can understand why people aren't happy here- it just feels as though there is no hope.
"It's not just the town centre though, you've got areas like Parr and Thatto Heath where kids from poor backgrounds turn to crime and trouble. Those areas really need some love."
Earlier this year, the ECHO looked into the issue of antisocial behaviour in Parr- an problem that is often symptomatic of deprivation. However, it often results in ordinary working class people paying the price, such as 65-year-old Pearl.
Pearl described feeling unsafe in her Parr home due to attacks from teenagers. She told the ECHO at the time: "I'm angry if anything, angry and upset, I've done prison work before with young people, and I can see where it's going for them. They're only babies, only 12, 13, 14.
"It's not just affecting me it's affecting the whole community. My windows have been smashed, shop windows have been smashed and it just really makes me upset. I try to look after my home, and people around here have bought their homes, they work hard for them."
It could be argued that there is at least a light at the end of the tunnel for the town centre, with heavy investment on the way from both the council and private sector to overhaul the entire economy of the area in an attempt to breathe life into the "dying" centre- and bring in jobs and further investment.
It remains unclear what will be done in these other areas of St Helens blighted by deprivation and antisocial behaviour
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