‘We don’t want to go back to normal!’
That was the headline message I took away from my zoom meet up this week with Inspirechilli’s Team Young People in London.
The results of what young people described to me as a ‘forced mass retreat’ have brought some unexpected positives amid the suffering and hardships of Covid-19. Young people might be at the brunt of vulnerabilities facing those self-employed in generation rent, but they have also been quick to spot the silver linings.
After all, as they simply put it, ‘What else could have made the aeroplanes stop?’
The impact on the environment, examples of community togetherness and mutual aid, the necessary focus on more sustainable lifestyles, the embrace of digital opportunities, parents spending more time to be with their children, and greater interest in some of the blackspots of our social system such as the mis-workings of universal credit and appreciation for the NHS, are all wins for young people worth keeping.
Not that the group of individuals I was talking to felt they could possibly speak for a more collective notion of young people’s voice. They are all too aware of the need to understand young people’s different circumstances on an individual basis, avoiding the mistakes of policy and decision makers shaping crude support models that do not reach or include everyone. It is telling how, even among a small group of young people, experiences of the pandemic’s impact vary greatly depending on family, housing and employment circumstances. Not everyone feels the Government’s arms around them.
What does seem more common, though not spoken about enough, is the reality that some young people are already used to being thrifty and resilient in the face of challenges, are able to adapt, be empathetic to others in need, and eager to think ahead about the bigger picture beyond the moment. I felt lucky to be in their company.
Had this been a meeting of the all powerful, I would have left feeling optimistic for the future. Put more bluntly, the sooner we make sharing power with young people common place, the better for all of us. That's the real normal worth making happen next.
