Two young people’s charities, YouthNet and Get Connected, have announced that they plan to merge and will unveil a new brand once it has been completed.
They expect the merger to be complete by the end of 2015 and will then unveil a new brand to the public. Both charities’ services will continue to operate as normal during and after the merger.
YouthNet runs digital support services for young people and Get Connected operates a telephone helpline.
The chief executive of YouthNet, Chris Martin, will lead the new organisation. Jessica Taplin, chief executive of Get Connected, is stepping down and will join V-Inspired as chief executive in 2016.
YouthNet’s current chair Luke Taylor will chair the new charity and Get Connected’s chair Gearoid Lance will be vice-chair. The new trustee board will be drawn from both organisations.
A spokeswoman said that there "may be a small number of redundancies" where there are duplicate roles an that the consultation ends on 9 December and those a risk of redundancy will "be informed at this point".
YouthNet has an income of £2.2m and employs 32 staff. Get Connected has an income of £1.3m and has 14 employees.
Martin said: “By combining YouthNet’s digital reach and expertise with Get Connected’s excellent 121 telephone support service, we can offer young people a recognisable, safe and trusted place to turn whenever they need it.
“Demand from young people for support has never been greater and we believe that our new charity will help to fill the gap where statutory services have been withdrawn and smaller organisations for young people have shut down.”
Taplin added: “Our services naturally complement each other, sharing the same values and non-judgemental approach, so it makes good sense for us to merge.”
In a statement today they said that by merging they would “provide a single, large-scale, multi-channel support service” and “avoid duplication”. And that the merger had come about after a year of discussions between the chief executives and trustees about “ways in which they might work more closely together in response to an escalating demand for their services by young people who today face unprecedented challenges”.
The proposed new charity will be based at two locations in central London.
