East Sussex County Council’s Children’s Services, Sussex Downs and Weald Primary Care Trust (PCT) and Connexions have joined forces to provide a range of services for young people in and around Newhaven. A sexual health drop-in clinic is already open and other services including information and advice on employment and training issues, accommodation and homelessness, drug and alcohol misuse will follow in the near future.
The drop-in clinic is open on Tuesdays 6pm – 7.30pm when a nurse and youth workers are available for advice and support.
These services replace those previously provided by local voluntary organisation The Junction.
East Sussex County Council’s Lead Member for Children and Families, Councillor Meg Stroude said: "The loss of any provider of services to young people, particularly when they come from the voluntary sector, is always a great shame and the work of The Junction has been appreciated by young people and agencies alike over the past years. Unfortunately they were unable to secure funding from a range of sources and this has meant that we must direct resources elsewhere to meet local needs and provide better value for money.”
Rosey Eggar, Acting Chair of the PCT, said: "The need to replace these services in Newhaven has been an urgent priority for the PCT and ESCC. By using new Children’s Trust arrangements, we have been able to identify an alternative venue for services close to Newhaven town centre and also ensure that the right mix of services is made available to young people.”
Placing these services on one site will help to make them more accessible to young people. Workers from Connexions, the Youth Development Service and Health will be available to discuss issues and problems faced by young people and offer the right access route to more specialised services such as counselling.
The aim is to make these services available in other venues across the area in Lewes and surrounding towns. The County Council will also be talking with young people over the coming months about the services at the Meeching Centre and whether they are best meeting young people’s needs.
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