A CHARITY which has provided relationship and sexual health advice to young people for almost 50 years is to close, with the loss of 11 jobs.

Edinburgh-based Caledonia Youth blamed an erosion in its funding and said it would shut its doors in March 2015.

The charity has seen cuts from a number of backers and in particular has lost work in Edinburgh where NHS Lothian withdrew funding on the basis that its own Chalmers Centre, a new sexual health clinic, would cater for young people.

Loss of funding for work with young people in four Scottish prisons to reduce reoffending behaviour has also contributed to the decision by the charity's board to wind it up.

However, Caledonia Youth said the demand for its services had continued to be high, and many young people preferred to talk to a charity instead of an NHS clinic. In May, the charity secured £15,000 in funding to launch CY4You, a new one-to-one support service, but this was not sufficient to secure its future.

The charity, which was set up in 1968, said there was a nationwide shortage of specialist preventive interventions to help young people under 25 through the challenges of puberty and adolescence and avoid risky behaviour.

A spokeswoman for Caledonia Youth added: "When we were developing CY4You earlier this year, it became obvious that there was a profound lack of specialist support services designed specifically to cater for the needs of young, vulnerable people under 25 and particularly teenagers.

"The dearth of provision was also apparent between 'lower level' interventions and those provided through CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health services), which is extremely overstretched, doesn't deal with over-18s and actually refers people to us."

She said waiting lists for counselling in Edinburgh were three months long, despite the new Chalmers clinic. "While we appreciate that many mainstream bodies provide some support, third sector organisations are well placed to provide much needed, tailored provision," she said. "Young people are far more willing to access a service designed to meet their specific needs."

A statement from its board of trustees said: "We find ourselves unable to sustain our charity following an erosion of funding in recent years. While the team have worked hard to secure new sources of income, like other colleagues in the third sector we have faced a constant reduction in statutory funding..

"Having exhausted alternative funding avenues vital to the sustainability of our charity, the board of trustees have made the difficult decision to wind up Caledonia Youth. Obviously we are hugely disappointed to be faced with what is the only option left open to us, which will bring redundancy for 11 highly skilled people."

Staff have been told of the decision and the Scottish charities regulator will be informed, the statement added. "While we wish we could do more, the focus now is on ensuring our young clients are supported through the closure, as there is a dearth of service provision," it said.