A PIONEERING scheme which is aimed at saving jobless young men from the scrapheap has been launched in Lancashire.

The initiative is being introduced amid growing concerns that long-term unemployment is linked to drug abuse, rising crime levels and poverty.

The project, called 'Hope For The Future,' is a joint initiative organised by church, council and community leaders and is thought to be the first of its kind in Britain.

A recent report, commissioned by the Hope For The Future Group, revealed that there are growing numbers of disillusioned young men in Lancashire. The county has a higher youth unemployment problem than the national average and last year over 1,100 young people in Lancashire disappeared from official registers.

The report also reveals that large numbers men in their late teens and early 20s feel let down by the system.

A pilot scheme funded with money from the Church Urban Fund and the Government's single regeneration budget has been set-up in Preston.

The work will focus on ten young men with the aim of helping them prepare for re-training and any future employment. County councillor Louise Ellman and the Rt Rev Alan Chesters, the Bishop of Blackburn, were at the official launch of the project. Coun Ellman said: "Our work to help young men who are on edges of society, feeling let down and cast aside is unique. We hope the project will be successful and then will be implemented in other areas of Lancashire."

Bishop Alan Chesters added: "It is exciting that in Lancashire we are working in partnership with the county council and a number of other organisations to tackle a real problem in a new way that no-one else has yet attempted. The church recognises the problems faced by young men in our society and is spearheading work in some of our most deprived areas to help them.

"The pilot project aims to bring real 'Hope For The Future' to young men and I am confident the whole of Lancashire will benefit."

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