Youth work with young people in vulnerable situations in Brussels

Research objective

This research situates in the urban context of Brussels, Belgium. As capital of Belgium and Europe, Brussels is a rich city with a poor population. One third of the people living in Brussels live under the poverty line, for young people, this reaches up until 40%. Many young people in Brussels grow up in challenging social circumstances with difficult access to health care, work and housing (BSI, 2016).

These young people are under-represented in youth work initiatives in the city. By organizing participatory youth work activities, youth workers aim to reach mainly this socially vulnerable youth.

The goal of this research is to examine the participatory youth work in Brussels. How is it enacted? What works? Which young people are being involved?

Research design

The voice of the youth workers is central in this research. In the first phase of the project, the youth workers are questioned about their experiences when working participatory with youth at social risk. In the second phase, the researcher observed three youth work organizations ethnographically, to study the voices of youth workers and youth directly from the field of practice. Together with the youth workers, the researcher will make recommendations for policy, so participation can be better implemented in Brussels’ policy and youth work practice.