YWAM SURVIVES VISA CRISIS
Youth With a Mission’s 350 international staff will stay in the UK, after threats that they may be forced to leave. The mission charity was inspected by UK Visa and Immigration last summer but was informed months later that their licence would be revoked if issues were not addressed. A revoking of the license would have forced half of YWAM’s workers, about 350 missionaries as well as their families, to leave the UK within 60 days. YWAM said this would, ‘inevitably [have meant] shutting down some of our training and service opportunities in this nation and abroad.’ However, at the end of January, the charity confirmed that its licence had been reinstated, saying, ’We have had to learn several hard lessons about our internal processes and our approach to record keeping.’
MENTAL HEALTH PACK LAUNCHED
A new pack to help churches support those struggling with mental health issues has been backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Mental Health Access Pack contains information on a range of mental health issues in church-friendly language in order to de-stigmatise mental health and equip the Church to respond appropriately to a range of issues, including those affecting young people. The pack has been developed by partner organisations Livability and Premier Mind and Soul and is available online at
mentalhealthaccesspack.org. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said: ‘Churches have a responsibility to welcome everyone who comes to them in Christ’s name, but the reality is that they don’t always know how best to support people who are struggling with mental health issues. The Mental Health Access Pack will help equip churches to make God’s love more visible in the welcome they offer to every person.’
YOUNG PEOPLE IGNORED BY POLITICS
A member of the Shadow Cabinet has admitted concerns that politicians ignore young people. Speaking to
The Independent, Sadiq Khan, the Shadow Justice Secretary, said politicians are in a vicious circle where they have to appeal to ‘silver voters’ at the expense of younger ones, due to a higher propensity for voting. Mr Khan said: ‘If you’ve got a candidate with an hour spare and a choice to go to an old people’s home or a sixth-form college, 99 per cent of campaign managers will say you’ve got to go to an old people’s home. That’s because 94 per cent of them are on the register and 77 per cent of them will vote. That is not true of the younger generation.’
‘The policies that affect young people – student loans, renting rights, gateways into employment – aren’t discussed to nearly the same extent [as other issues] in the media, nor are they reflected in politicians’ priorities. If young people’s rights aren’t reflected in Whitehall, many won’t feel inclined to vote – and as the majority of us don’t vote, politicians focus all the more on keeping the older generations happy.’Elanor Muffitt , writing in The Telegraph about why young people don’t vote
