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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Jessica Murray Social affairs correspondent

‘We’re on a cliff edge’: the struggle to keep youth services alive in Knowsley

A man standing in a serving hatch talks to two teenage boys
The Boyzee at Halewood Youth in Community Centre has been opening its doors to young people for almost 60 years, but is walking a funding tightrope. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Guardian

“I feel like I’m failing because I can’t reach everyone,” said Toni Dodd, the centre manager at Karma in the Community, a youth service in Knowsley on the outskirts of Liverpool.

“I’ll go over and get kids hanging outside the shops, bring them in, but it’s who am I not reaching? It just takes one thing and they’re on that track into crime, into drugs. There are kids going into school on ketamine. I do all I can but it’s so hard to keep it open and running, and you can’t meet the demand there is.”

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