Youth perspectives as a driving force in social work innovation – trying to counteract deviance and structural vulnerability of youth at risk

This article focuses on young people outside education and the labour market in a Danish context emphasising their narratives about social exclusion mechanisms throughout their schooling and up to their current situation today. Furthermore, the article entails the young peoples’ perspectives on social support, and their suggestions to improve the welfare practices to include them better in society. Through participatory research the article builds on 15 biographical interviews and two future workshops with 20 young people to provide insights into young, marginalised people’s experiences of social inclusion and exclusion. The young participants point out that their social exclusion started early in primary school, where they were labelled as outsiders. Howard Becker’s labelling theory is used as an analytical framework to understand the empirical findings and the youth perspectives of their deviance. The article aims to give these young people a voice. The perspectives of marginalised young people contribute to an understanding of their life situations and gives insights to meaningful interventions seen from a user perspective; what helps and support them to social inclusion, and what does not–as a starting point for social innovation and co-production in social work.