“I’m Batman. Batman always works alone”
(Batman, The Lego Batman Movie. (In a gruff voice))

We’re not like Batman – we never work alone. From our early days as the Devon Youth Association to our current work as Young Devon we have always worked in partnership with young people, with local communities and with a diverse group of organisations and agencies.

From our launch in 1949, when we worked alongside youth clubs and sports clubs all across Devon, we helped give young people more positive activities by working alongside dozens of different local groups. When we renamed ourselves ‘Young Devon’ in 1997 it was because we had worked alongside young people and other partners to recognise that our work needed to develop and evolve to find better ways to give young people – especially those more vulnerable to life’s challenges – the support they need.

As we celebrate our 70th year we continue to be indebted to the partnerships which make our work possible. At the core of all our work are the relationships we develop with young people, working with a person-centred and informal education approach to develop a partnership with an individual or group which enables us to find solutions together. Our current support for young people ranges from homelessness support to housing 150 young people a night, from open access youth clubs to formal courses, from advice and mental health drop-ins to counselling and support for victims of crime.

Wherever you live in Devon, Plymouth or Torbay there is a very good chance that a local charity, council team, company or individual has made it possible for us to help a young person change the odds that are stacked against them. It’s been the same way for 70 years. This year as we tell more stories about the journey of Young Devon, the staff who work here and the young people we work alongside why not follow our social media and find out more about what we do?