| AdminHistory | The Youth Grants Sub-Committee was appointed in September 1964 following a resolution passed by the Adult Education and Youth Sub-Committee to consider any grant applications made by a youth organisation of an 'unusual nature' or totalling more than £100. Applications of less than £100 and of a routine nature were to submitted for recommendation by the Chief Education Officer, which were again submitted to the Adult Education and Youth Sub-Committee.
The sub-committee was mainly concerned itself with any administrative business surrounding grants such as resolving the applications of individual organisations and groups and considering applying relief from rate payments to certain bodies in order to maximise the resources they had at their disposal for providing facilities and activities for their members; considering the income and expenditure of individual bodies and organisations when grant applications were made;
The sub-committee also supported the work of the St Basil's Centre, based in a disused Anglican Church in Deritend, Birmingham, which first opened in 1972. The centre provided support for vulnerable young people amongst Birmingham's homeless, married couples, immigrant communities and the unemployed, many of whom came from deprived backgrounds or suffered drug and alcohol dependency and low expectations and self-esteem. It also provided temporary accommodation for itinerant students, hitch-hikers, football supporters and servicemen.
The sub-committee also supported the work of what were known as 'Detached Youth Workers' from the St Basil's Centre, who went out into the wider community to cope with the needs of adolescents not normally served by the normal Youth Service as part of the 'Invest in Birmingham' project begun on 1 January 1972. Issues relating to the sustainability of such projects were highlighted in reports and committee minutes, although evidence suggested that they had a positive impact on young people whilst they were in place.
It is unclear from the surviving minutes when the sub-committee was disbanded, although it was probably in February or March 1974, around the time the parent Adult Education and Youth Sub-Committee was folded. |