Our mission is to ensure all young people can access free support on their journey into adulthood from community-based advice and counselling services that respect their rights and meet their individual needs. To achieve this, we:
- Advocate with and for our members and young people to influence national policy and funding decisions – we have unlocked millions in funding for local services
- Facilitate networking and collaboration between services to share challenges and learning
- Develop and disseminate evidence, training and guidance to help services improve and advocate for change locally
- Empower young people to campaign with our members for services and systems that meet their needs and fulfil their rights
We work to bring together the voices and experiences of youth advice and counselling services nationwide. The insights we collect from our members are a crucial resource that empowers us to advocate for services and the young people you support nationally. As a community, we have already achieved so much. Working with our members, we put frontline practitioners and young people at the heart of decision-making and policy influencing.
If you're looking to connect your service with wisdom from the wider community and the national youth advice and counselling movement, become a Youth Access member today.
Membership criteria
Our members come in all shapes and sizes, because they respond to their communities' needs; that's why we use the following membership criteria to be really clear about who we represent. To become a Youth Access member, you will need to confirm that you meet the following criteria:
- We offer open access services for young people: this means young people can self refer and access support that is free
- We are youth-focused: this means we solely support young people, or if we are an all age-organisation - there is a youth-specific service that is distinct in space, staff and offer
- We are a local organisation serving a local community (this could be city, county or other local area)
- We are not for profit
Our principles
We believe that young people should be able to access high-quality advice and counselling services that respect their rights and meet their individual needs. That's why to become a member your organisation must be committed to upholding the principles outlined in our Quality Framework.
Please note, when we refer to 'young people', we're speaking specifically about those aged between 11-25 years old. We know organisations might have different uses of these terms, and/or be limited to serving narrower age ranges due to funding or other challenges.
Sign up for membership
Our membership fees are based on annual income to reflect what organisations can reasonably contribute, and give all services the opportunity to join us.
| Organisation's Annual Turnover | Annual Fee | |
|---|---|---|
| Under £100,000 | £50 | |
| £100,000 to £500,000 | £120 | |
| £500,001 to £1 million | £160 | |
| £1 million to £2 million | £180 | |
| Over £2 million | £200 |
Want to find out more?
Download our information pack to find out more.
Got questions? Visit our FAQ's page or reach out to us at [email protected].
