MORE than £400,000 has been awarded to a vital Storyhouse Chester initiative that provides life-changing support for young people. The Westminster Foundation is providing the funding for Storyhouse’s award-winning Young Leaders Programme in a commitment that will span five years. The initiative provides young people, including those who conventionally face barriers to employment, with work experience and a range of employability skills in the creative industries. Former participants of the course have included young people at risk of homelessness, disabled young people and young carers. The Duke of Westminster, chair of the Westminster Foundation, who recently joined a virtual meeting with some of Storyhouse’s young leaders, said: Young people have been hit hard by the pandemic, as opportunities previously open to them have quickly disappeared.