Reducing Youth Violence

Kentish Town Community Champions have been working with our volunteers and local community for many months to help reduce local youth violence. This has been funded by The Young Camden Foundation.

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Why have we been doing this?

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Kentish Town Community Champions have been working on this theme as it was identified by the community as an issue of priority for local people's health and wellbeing. Our volunteers range from grandparents, to parents, to young people themselves - all of which have a real passion for tackling this issue.

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What have we been up to?

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Firstly, the Community Champions Kentish Town staff and volunteers were trained by KIP Education around youth violence awareness and ways of working. We explored best practice, we looked at examples of success, routes into youth violences and societal injustices.

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This amazing training led us to develop a scheme of work for years 6s at local Primary schools:

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Workshop 1: Friend vs Friendly drama session

Aim: For young people to spot the signs between genuine friendship and somebody taking advantage of them, and what steps to take if this happens.  

Description: Though handling a heavy topic, this will be a fun and creative session where young people can play out different scenarios around what a friend may ask, or what somebody who is being friendly to take advantage may ask. There will be the opportunity to discuss these scenarios and think about where these kinds of incidents may happen and what steps to take if they do.

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Workshop 2: Social Media (with disability focus)

Aim: For young people to understand how social media can be used to recruit and entice people into gang activity, with particular focus on the vulnerabilities of people with disabilities and how to support peers with disabilities.  

Description: Though handling a heavy topic, this will be a fun and creative session where young people will have the chance to view social media from a critical distance and have a think about their potential interactions / future interactions on these platforms. It will be a chance for young people to upskill themselves in taking their safety seriously whilst exploring how to be empathic to disabled people using the platforms (e.g understanding why somebody with a disability may over-share, and why it is important to report abuse and bullying)

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Workshop 3: Transition to secondary – hearing from local young people

Aim: For young people to explore their views, thoughts, and feelings about transitioning to secondary school and to help alleviate stress and anxiety around this whilst also building confidence.

Description: This will be an active workshop where young people can lead the direction of the conversations and activities, personalised to their opinions. We will also bring in local young volunteers and young active community members who can speak in a relatable and engaging way on their experiences.  

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Workshop 4: Parent session

Aim: For parents to develop their understanding of youth violence and gang activity in relation to years 6s transitioning to year 7, and to feel empowered to continue this conversation with their children and peers.  

Description: This will be a workshop hosted by Community Champions with an external expert coming in to discuss a parent's role, what steps to take in different scenarios, and how to stay informed. This will be trauma informed and explore the different issues which intersect with youth violence, such as poverty, housing, etc, in a non-judgemental way.

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We have had a great time taking these workshops to various primary schools such as Torriano Primary, Brecknock Primary, and St Patricks primary. We look forward to working with more schools and developing this project further.