Youth Access is the national membership body representing and championing a diverse network of youth advice and counselling services which offer support for young people nationwide.
The Youth Access model for advice and counselling services, formerly known as the Youth Information, Advice and Counselling Services (YIACS) model, has been used to describe local services delivering a range of support under one roof to meet young people's health and wellbeing and social needs, since 1998.
This model outlines the shared purpose, values, and principles essential for providing impactful and effective support for young people.
Discover the Youth Access model
Our members embody the principles set out in the Youth Access model.
They are youth advice and counselling services rooted in their local communities. They offer free, open-access and age-appropriate support to those aged 11 to 25, bridging the critical gap between child and adult services.
They provide wraparound support to meet complex and intersecting needs, covering everything from mental health and wellbeing to education, employment, housing and more. A local service's offering is shaped around the specific needs of the young people in their area. Designed and developed with their young people's needs and rights in mind, they provide a holistic, person-first approach, respecting all cultures and backgrounds.
That's also one of the reasons why our members have a better reach to young people from typically worst-served groups than statutory services. Woven into the fabric of their local community, they are better placed to meet their needs. Improving and continuously striving for more equal access to service provision.
