UK Youth Belong Collective: ‘We Choose to Be Here’

6th May 2026

Why youth organisations are essential to tackling youth loneliness

The Belong Collective aims to be a cross sector network, which is focused on connecting practitioners to share learning, challenges, good practice, and new thinking about youth loneliness. The focus of this work is wider than just the youth sector – supporting those who work and engage with young people to consider youth loneliness and embed effective solutions to tackle it. The Collective will improve cross-sector working, influence policy making and also provide support to practitioners – many of whom often feel ‘alone’ when trying to support young people who are lonely.

Research Summary:

This report highlights our findings from research Belong have been undertaking with young people and youth workers across the youth sector to help them understand the role of youth organisations in supporting young people facing loneliness.

‘We choose to be here’ describes the essential role that youth organisations play in helping young people to overcome these feelings of loneliness in the face of such a challenging period. By helping them to connect with others, make new friendships and explore their own identity, youth organisations act as vital outlets for young people. Through their own choices to participate in activities and groups that youth organisations provide, young people are making an empowered step to challenge their feeling of loneliness and create a new future for themselves.

This research not only describes how youth organisations play this essential role but also, reflects on a challenging two years for the youth sector, and how we can learn from this time to build future policies and practices that policymakers, youth workers and young people can draw upon to create real change.

The research acts as a follow-up to their 2018 report, ‘A Place to Belong’, which first helped to set out a series of strategic and delivery-level recommendations, including both the need for further research into youth loneliness and a space for a network of youth workers and organisations to come together, share advice, experience and create innovative solutions.