Liverpool's Unsung Heroes

Picture Liverpool in the 1880’s: A dockside land that had finally gained the status of a fully-fledged ‘city’. An area thriving with trade and brimming with a mixture of cargo, crates and potential. Hard work weaved into our heritage as the Dockers and the Merchants laboured to develop the city off their own backs.

It was also a time where boys barely of age were sent to work with the responsibility of supporting their families and putting food on the table. Apprenticeships were founded by factories and tradesmen to help the youth develop skills that would transcend generations.

Outside of work, pubs and Working Men’s Clubs were at the heart of everyday life. Though they worked like adults, the youth of the 1800’s were still prohibited from booze and banned from clubs. Much like present day, this led to young people wandering the streets suppressing their boredom with whatever activities could entertain their needs. The city’s teens struggled to look for their place in the world. Dealing with peer pressure and social status. Following friends and trends with no real fear of consequences, just find their way through the best they can. Feeling like a young adult but without all the power and freedom that seems to come with it.  

This lack of guidance led a group of philanthropists to tackle the gap created by society. The goal was simple: Give the youth of the city somewhere to go.  From this came the first youth centres and youth services in Liverpool and gave provisions to teenagers to keep them on the straight and narrow. It sparked the beginning of the Liverpool Boys Academy (LBA) and the Liverpool union of Girls Clubs (LUGC). In the year 1890, the LBA opened up access to the community for voluntary workers to provide a positive environment for those brought up in the area. Education, life skills and recreation where the main focus of the Academy, with an aim to set the youth up for employment, building character and personality. The LBA began to reach out to community clubs as a body of support and started running services for young people.

Fast-forward to today, 127 years later, the LBA and the LUGC are now merged and operating as the Merseyside Youth Association (MYA). Surviving two World Wars, the institute is even older than Liverpool Football Club. The MYA’s mission statement is still the foundation of all their operations: creating positive and lasting change in the lives of Merseyside’s young people.

Now stacked with an extensive roster, the MYA has mental health promotion councilors and teams as well as disability inclusion programs. It also runs schemes that teach teens about sexual health, alcohol safety and teenage parenting.

Their recreational program branches out through Liverpool working with sports governing bodies to create multi-sports activities. Over the years they have provided the city with football fields in Walton, Mosley Hill and Woolton which have been maintained by the association. Through the decades these fields have opened their gates to at least 5 European cup champions including Steve McManaman and Wayne Rooney. Liverpool legend Billy Liddell was also a member of the MYA’s Board of Directors and contributed to much of the charities development during the 1950’s to the 1960’s.

It’s safe to say that the MYA is one of Liverpool’s greatest unsung heroes. Endlessly providing Liverpool’s young people with the skills to develop into capable adults.

Looking to the future, the MYA are to work alongside the FA to become an even larger hub for football in the city, joining the Park Life program. With sports currently on hold as they prepare for the transition, I have not been able to snap any action photos. However, they have invited me down to the Epstein Theater in early February for the Liverpool CAMHS Now Festival. I’m looking forward to seeing the young and inspired take the stage on this great platform promoting mental health awareness.

To get involved and see what the MYA can do for you and the children around you, please visit http://www.mya.org.uk/ and show your support for Liverpool’s oldest youth program. Please share this page and help draw attention to the MYA to create a bigger following of the activities hosted in our incredible city.

It’s been an absolute pleasure sharing this inspiring story, local history and community spotlight. I wait in anticipation to see what my next trip down to the Jeffrey Humble sports fields will bring.

WB

A Massive thank you to Liam Corcoran; Sports Coordinator at the MYA for all the information, making this write up possible.