Adolescence, the bit in-between being a child and an adult, might be longer than we think. For purposes of treating young people, the latest guidance for psychologists has suggested that adolescence now continues until the age of 25. The previous cut off point has been 18, but there is a belief that young people still need support beyond that age. Part of the reason for the change has been developments in neuroscience. It was previously thought that the brain was fully developed during the teenage years but we now know that brain development continues through into the mid-20s and even into the early 30s. The time beyond the age of 18 is now known as ‘late adolescence’. Neuroscience has shown that a young person’s emotional capability, understanding of self and ability to make judgments continues to be affected until the prefrontal cortex of the brain has fully developed in late adolescence.
“When do ‘young people’ become just ‘people’?”
Andrew Barker works for the Hunslet Initiative, which is a partnership between the churches in Hunslet to serve the young people of the community of south Leeds. Part of Andrew’s work involves running an under-16s football team. He says: “When the young people we work with turned 17 they were no longer eligible for the team. We tried to set up adult team but it was a struggle. Once the young people hit 18 they’d be out on the town on Friday night, so a Saturday morning league just didn’t work for them. On top of that, many of the group weren’t employed and so paying the subs of £5 a week was just too expensive. A few tried to get into other teams, but many just didn’t have the confidence to make that approach. We heard about a new FA scheme of a flexi-league, which was a way of making football more accessible. Matches were only an hour, and still 11-side. The matches were on a weekday evening and the subs were a lot less. We approached the group with this idea and they were keen. We now have a group of 18 young people who meet midweek to be part of the team.”
It has been discussed in the press that more and more young people are living at home post-18. Often the reasons cited have been that the financial pressures of living independently are too much. Young people can find it harder to secure the future they want; even the government set a minimum wage £1.40 lower for under-21s. Does the combination of lower pay and lack of jobs - still over half a million young people not in education or training are unemployed - lead to young people staying at home and putting off adulthood? It could be that the reason young people are reluctant to leave home is not just financial. The support network of the family and extended family might be something that they are unable to find elsewhere. The number of support schemes that a young person not in employment, education and training can receive drop dramatically once they are over 18. This is crucial at a period of their lives where opportunities for young people are squeezed particularly hard as they are thrown into adulthood. There is a risk that support will not reach the young people who need it most. The Church seems to have trouble with how to work with young people beyond 16. A survey by the Evangelical Alliance shows that 96 per cent of church leaders have a priority of increasing the number of 16-30-year-olds in their churches. Why are so many leaving or disinterested in the church beyond 18? Maybe we’ve supported them through their teenage years and then pushed them out of the nest too early.
In Hunslet, Andrew and his team have found that the continued support of these young people transitioning into adulthood has opened up new opportunities:
“The support network of the family might be something that young people are unable to find elsewhere”
“Through this continued contact with this group we’ve managed to start another project for them to explore faith. We meet together in our building and eat together. We started out by getting them to list the questions they had about God, faith and the beyond. We shared our own testimonies and now are starting to explore some of the issues raised in their questions.
We’ve known this group of young people since they were 14. Once they hit 18 it can be really easy for them to drift off the radar as jobs and other influences take more of their time. We have an ethos of being open to everyone and that doesn’t stop once they turn 18. We walked alongside and supported this group for years, and we continue to try and support through this next phase of life.”
It is easy to get into the mind-set that once young people turn 18 they no longer need support or are supported by someone else. Young people can find a positive experience of mutual support through going to university. In 2015 29.8 per cent of 18-year-olds entered university. Alongside them were 12.3 per cent of 19-year-olds who had been on some form of year out. Aside from the studying, there is a sense of embracing this new season of life together. Many churches in university towns do a great job of connecting with students, and organisations such as Fusion ensure that transition happens well. However there are around 400,000 18 and 19-year-olds who do not attend university and the support for their transition into the next phase of life is limited.
On the road to Emmaus, Jesus walks alongside two disciples, listening to their troubles and sadness over the recent events of the death of their rabbi and friend. Jesus even explains to them their foolishness for not understanding and goes on to explain to them the scriptures that indicate Jesus was the Messiah. Even then they do not see who is in front of them. They persuade Jesus to come and eat with them and as he breaks the bread and gives thanks, they recognise and understand. Our walk with young people can be like the journey to Emmaus, but sometimes we can stop along that journey, saying: “Our time together is done.” Perhaps we are invited into young people’s lives to continue to walk with them and support them further down the path.
Experiment Yourself
Positive futures
Talk to the young people you work with now. Explore their hopes, dreams and visions for their own futures. For older young people, take the time to explore where those ideas about the future come from. Is it doom and gloom from the press? Is it a sense of God calling them to something? Is it a future that they see from the society and culture that surround them and do they want to try a different path? Work out together what support young people need.
Plan for the future
Talk to your minster or board of trustees about how you might support young people past the age of 18. In my 20s I lived in a community house next to the church and we’d often let ourselves in to play badminton, basketball and table tennis, as well as pray and worship together. Get creative and explore what you might do to either continue contact or start something new. Could an over-18s youth club work?
