A PETERSFIELD mother has launched an online platform aimed at helping teenagers after finding that youth services had been cut, or were only available for an hour-a-day.

Kathryn Ellis Blandford launched the Petersfield Pathfinders project after a meeting with youth workers, where she heard there were suspected drug problems in parts of the town.

The mother of two from Cranford Road said: “I met with people from the Kings Arms Youth Centre, including its operations manager Caroline Aeschliman, and a Heath Road resident who raised concerns about large groups on the Heath and drug dealing.

“For now the Kings Arms is mainly working online and their new premises is only open for an hour a day. But they are doing all they can via their website and social media pages.

“East Hampshire District Council stopped funding the Street Safe youth service in March, so now 13 to 19-year-olds don’t know where to get information on activities and advice.”

So Kathryn, helped by her daughter Bronwyn (both pictured right) set up the Pathfinders Facebook page; she is now appealing for anyone that provides youth services and activities, or would be able to offer work experience, to contact her.

She said: “As well as the normal stresses of being a young adult, returning to school and college in such uncertain times is a massive pressure and anything that eases the pressure is really important to me, because as a teenager I didn’t have it easy. There are online resources, but they’re not always easy to find, so I want to pull everything together in one place. I want to young people to feel reassured they have the support of the community.”

For details see the Petersfield Pathfinders Facebook page.