Prince Charles Pens a Rare Article About the Impact of COVID-19 on Young People
Prince Charles has highlighted the plight of young people who could need "urgent help" to protect their futures from the coronavirus pandemic.
In an article published in the Sunday Telegraph, Prince Charles suggested there could be one million young people who have been impacted by the pandemic that now require critical help and support. He added that it is a "particularly difficult time to be young."
The royal also warned that the challenge of helping those in need was "unquestionably vast, but not insurmountable," and compared the current situation to "other times when hope was scarce," referencing youth unemployment in the 1970s which prompted him to found his charity, The Prince's Trust.
The Prince's Trust is a youth charity that helps young people aged 11 to 30 get into jobs, education, and training. "For anyone, this is a difficult time—but it is a particularly difficult time to be young," the royal wrote in the Telegraph.
"This year, we celebrate the fact that over the last nearly 45 years, we have helped a million young people to change their lives for the better. Over all these years since the trust was launched, there has never been an easy time," he wrote.
Prince Charles continued, "However, there has never been a time as uniquely challenging as the present, when the pandemic has left perhaps another million young people needing urgent help to protect their futures. The task ahead is unquestionably vast, but it is not insurmountable."
There have been many warnings about the impact of the virus on young people, with the education gaps between richer and poorer pupils increasing during lockdown.
Young people have also been hit the hardest by unemployment, with those aged 16 to 24 suffering the biggest drop in employment compared with other age groups. His comments come following reports that thousands of students at universities across the United Kingdom are in lockdown following coronavirus outbreaks.
Prince Charles, who recovered from COVID-19 after testing positive for the virus earlier this year, set up the Young People Relief Fund to provide extra support to young people affected by the impact of the pandemic.
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