Kids Doing It Their Own Way Through Lack Of Exposure

Last month, thousands of school-age children marched upon Westminster to protest against climate change.

It was a difficult sight to miss. Despite the dominance of the Brexit debate across our news outlets, for a remarkably prolonged period, the march stole the headlines.

This was partly due to the debate it was generating over whether skiving school, for whatever reason, is ever warranted. However much of the reaction was one of surprise – firstly, of how big the turnout was and secondly, how earnestly and passionately those participating felt about the cause, and the energy that it generated.

Youth action en masse, at school-age at least, is something rarely seen. The overriding assumption when it comes to political activism amongst this age group is one of general antipathy, interspersed with a vehement extremism by only a select few. What the climate change march last month did was demonstrate the power of young people to campaign for a cause that society, on the whole, does not consider an extreme one.

This power, of an engaged, motivated youth, is one that the charity ‘Street Child United’ also recognise. Not only do they recognise it, but they have sought to combine it with another powerful tool: sport.

Take any journey on public transport across London, regardless of the time of day or night, and you will encounter someone homeless. Despite this visceral demonstration of the struggles of homelessness, according to the youth homeless charity Centrepoint: “People sleeping rough are vastly outnumbered by those whose homelessness we don’t see”.