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A youth group in Port Talbot is being set up to provide a safe space for young local people to connect with one another as families feel the pressures of the cost-of-living crisis. The project has been made possible thanks to a £5000 grant from the Comic Relief Community Fund Wales and £1000 from Neath Port Talbot Council for Voluntary Service.The youth group will meet at St Theodore’s Church Port Talbot. The Rev’d Ben Andrews has long seen a need for a free safe-space youth event in the town as an alternative to GirlGuiding and Scout groups. Fr Ben is passionate to provide a place of sanctuary and fun for young people in the area coming from all home situations.Youth are a vital part of the communityFr Ben said, “Youth are a vital part of the community and often young people can get bad press. Particularly at this time with the cost-of-living crisis. We can put something on that’s free and somewhere safe where they can come to. I think it's important that we engage with young people. You know, lots of churches complain they haven’t got many young people. Well, you’ve got to roll your sleeves up and do something to meet them somewhere where it's safe and non-threatening.”The aim of Community Fund is to “ensure that Comic Relief funding is reached by the community groups leading change and growth in their locality; enabling positive change shaped in response to the specific needs of their community.” St Theodore’s youth club fits the ‘Children Survive and Thrive’ Strategic Theme of the funding and identifies the “need or challenge within their community” and seeks to address it with a realistic and lasting approach.From there we can have conversations about faithPort Talbot is a large town in the county borough of Neath. St Theodore’s Church have good relations with some of the local primary schools and are beginning to work with a secondary comprehensive school in the area where the children, who Fr Ben hopes will come to the youth club, are likely to attend.Activities for the weekly evening club will include table tennis, board games, arts and crafts and outdoor sports. But ultimately the aim is that this youth club will be a soft transition into learning about Jesus.Fr Ben said “It's all about building up relationships with people and getting them on board and getting them used to the facilities. The hall where the youth club will be is right next to the church. Hopefully we will use the church grounds too because we just set up a community garden. I hope the young people can see that it's not all strange and off putting; there is a sort of fun side to the Christian life. From there we can have conversations about faith and hopefully we can set up as a satellite group like ‘prayer and pizza’ which will be more about Christian teachings.”For more informationContact Fr Ben Andrews on 07946 395 376 or email frben@porttalbotministryarea.org