A YOUTH charity which helps troubled young people get into education and work is facing closure unless it can raise £25,000.

Bromley Council and central government budget cuts mean JusB will miss out on around £50,000 in grants, and unless it can raise this amount by the end of this month it will be forced to close.

This means the charity will no longer be able to help the 200 young people who attend its centre in College Road, Bromley, and the hundreds more it works with in the streets.

A JusB trustee has promised to donate £25,000 if the charity can raise the other £25,000, and now staff and young people are urging Bromley residents to dig into their pockets.

Youth worker Jerry Nicholas said: ‘We help young people stay in school, get into training or jobs, avoid anti-social behaviour, improve relationships with families and lots more.

“We’re known for helping those young people that other groups can’t get to. If we go then it’s not like some other group will simply slot into our place. That will be it.”

Marcus Sullens, aged 16, started attending the JusB centre five years ago and has used its music room to develop his rap skills, and now hopes to become a professional hip-hop artist.

He said: “JusB is the one place young people can go to do something positive instead of walking the streets and getting into trouble.”

The £50,000 will be used to pay the salaries of the seven youth workers at the charity, which was set up in 2003, as well as building maintenance costs.

To donate, go to jusb.org.uk or call 020 8464 2722. The deadline is March 31.

Penge and Anerley libraries

Council cuts also mean Penge and Anerley libraries will both be closed and re-opened as one library in a new building.

A council spokeswoman says this measure, which will save £90,000, will also mean an improved library service for people in Penge and Anerley.

She said: “It will be a better building than the current ones, and at a central location.”

However, many users of both libraries are opposed to the move, and a petition with more than 800 signatures opposing the closure of Anerley Library has been handed to the council.

Anerley Library regular Mellita Robinson said: “What about the community who live in and around Anerley, the aged who can walk only short distances and other vulnerable people?”

The 55-year-old, who lives in Seymour Villas, Anerley, added: “I certainly do not think it is a good idea to have all the libraries in the same place.”