Gateshead's Youth Services are a vital part of what makes Gateshead a great place to grow up in. This stretches from support for minority groups, vulnerable young people, support networks, the youth council, youth projects and even as a place to go to meet new people and form friendship groups. This will be destroyed should the proposed 56% cut go through, it will tear apart an already depleted service. Young people gain massive benefits from a good youth service, whether it be through breaking barriers between groups, joining something that is a friendship group or even groups that actively seek and complete projects that help benefit the local community. The Youth Service is a genuinely good thing for Gateshead, a service who are regularly looked to for examples of exemplary practice where Young People can access so many experiences and life skills, as well as a vital space to meet people and simply have a laugh. The groups are so much more than that, though, they give an improved start in life, which ultimately improves the area dramatically. Save our Youth Services, inspire a generation. If ever your help was needed to protect a vital service, it is NOW.