Promoting community development among young people with socioeconomic challenges

Abstract

Community development occurs when people experience ‘‘collective responsibility’’ in reaching “their own destinies’’ (Kenny, 2010, p. 10). Encouraging participation among young people using a community development approach will identify their needs and strengths. This study features face - to - face interviews with young people with socioeconomic challenges which attempt to gain an insight into what hinders their participation. Once the youth acquire help from different factions, such as the family, school, peers and service providers, they would be more amenable to achieving community development.Furthermore, the focus group discussion with service providers reveales the necessity of informal learning to address the young people`s disadvantages. Finally, the findings show that the Vittoriosa Aċċess Community and Resource Centre interventions are empowering young people in achieving social cohesion.