Over the past couple of years we've has faced huge challenges after losing significant funding and support from the Nottingham City Council; however we are moving onwards and upwards in our mission to be a safe and supportive place for 11-25 year olds in #Nottingham and #Nottinghamshire.
Over the last decade the Council has been steadily cutting funding to youth provisions across the city and in early 2022 they withdrew all of their funding from the Base 51. Alongside that, funding changes mean that we will likely have to relocate from the purpose built facility of the NGY Building (purchased by the council as a part of the government funded My Place youth scheme in 2012); negotiations are still ongoing with the Council but it has been agreed that Base 51 can remain in the building in Castle Gate until March 2024.
Even with the challenges we have faced, including the pandemic and cost of living crisis, Base 51 continues to offer outstanding support to young people in the area, providing a safe place where they can access specialist services and support free of charge; young people that come to Base 51 have said “it’s like family” and without it they’d be “in prison, or out making trouble”, with some even saying the charity saved their life. We have worked with over 50,000 young people over our 30 year history in the city.
Jo Jepson, Base 51 CEO, said: “it’s been a challenging time, however, as always, we have put the needs of young people first and are now coming out the other side. We are feeling positive for the future but still need support from our community to help the charity to continue to go onwards and upwards”
Youth charities like Base 51 provide desperately needed support to young people in the community; Nottingham is officially the worst place to be a young person in England (data on Education and Employment, Youth Opportunities Index) and 56 areas of Nottingham are in the top 10% most deprived in the country (2019 government statistics); as of 2023, the crime rate in Nottingham is 40% higher than the East Midlands and 51% higher than the England, Wales & Northern Ireland. Alongside that, the ongoing cost of living crisis is affecting low-income communities the hardest, meaning that young people in the city and county are facing struggles and need support from organisations and charities like Base 51.
On the 13th August Base 51 will be holding a free Open Day to celebrate their 30th Anniversary, we will have a BBQ, face paint, activities, games and more and we would love to see you there.
We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported our charity, together we can continue to make a positive impact on the lives of thousands of young people.