About Us

In 1994, St Gregory’s Youth and Community Initiative (SGY&CI) was originally founded another Archdiocese to meet the needs of the community in Liverpool. It provided an informal, friendly and safe environment where young people can socialise whilst developing their skills and learning. In November 2005 SGY&CI incorporated to limited company status, which was proceeded to adopt its Memorandum and Articles of Association in November 2005.

The Church was closed after the Easter Holiday, April 2011 and following instructions from the Archdiocese from September 2011 the club changed its name to Netherley Youth & Community Initiative (NYCI), but our aims and objective remain the same: ‘Enable members residing in Netherley and its surrounding areas, irrespective of age and social exclusion to participate in activities organised by Netherley Youth & Community Initiative. The aims and objectives are to provide social welfare recreation, educational opportunities and leisure provisions in the community with a view to improving the quality of living.’ Netherley Youth & Community Initiative is operated from St. Gregory’s Church Hall, which is adjacent to the St. Gregory’s Primary School.

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Our Area

NY&CI operates within the Netherley area.

Netherley is part of Belle Vale Ward within Liverpool City Council. According to Liverpool City Council, Belle Vale continues to shows high levels of overall deprivation falling into the top 10% most deprived neighbourhoods nationally.

The unemployment rate is 18.6%, which is above the Liverpool average of 15.3% and the national average of 9.2%.

Demographics

The population of Belle Vale (2014), is made up of 18.1% children aged 0-15, 62.1% working age (16-64), 19.8% older people (65+), and 4.7% people age 80+. It should be noted that due to its composition Netherly Youth and Community Initiative not only cater to youth but also people ages 65+. This is incredibly important especially with Age UK’s report on how loneliness is affecting the older generation. According to Age UK: “200,000 older people have not had a conversation with friends of the family for a month, and 3.9 million older people agree that television is their main form of their company. According to the heat map from Age UK, Belle Vale is identified as an area where people aged 65+ suffer from loneliness. To learn more about how to loneliness in Belle Vale please visit Age UK.

Employment

Ouor area also has a relatively high proportion of its workless population, who are lone parents (3.3%), a significant issue affecting child and family poverty levels in the area. In Belle Vale 32.7% of children are classed as living in poverty, this is higher than Liverpool City average of 30.5% and higher than the national average of 18.1%.

Crime per 1,000 persons in 2015/2016 in Belle Vale is 53.1% which is lower than Liverpool’s average of 97.6%. This reflects the local initiatives to tackle the issues. Download the full Belle Vale Ward Profile

Our Feature on ITV

At NYCI, we’re thrilled to be featured by ITV, who highlighted our vital role in supporting the local community. The article discusses our collaboration with FareShare, facilitated by the Coronation Food Project initiated by King Charles III. This partnership has significantly boosted our ability to provide free meals and a safe social space, easing the burden of the cost of living crisis for many families. The King’s donation to this project is a testament to our ongoing commitment to the Netherley community, helping us expand our reach and impact.

Read the article