A Brixton paster who has helped get 60 young people out of gangs and back on track has been recognised with a civic award from the outgoing Mayor of Lambeth.
Pastor Mimi Asher, who led a community initiative on the Myatts Field Estate, has helped cut the level of crime in the area and given vulnerable teens a much “brighter future”.
The pastor was one of seven residents from across the borough who attended a ceremony at the town hall, Brixton, on Wednesday.
In her last official engagement as Lambeth’s first citizen, former mayor Christina Valcarcel said: “It’s a tremendous privilege to be able to honour these truly exceptional members of the community, and say ‘thank you’ to them on behalf of the borough’s residents.
“Their tireless commitment day in day out to improving their communities and help others is a humbling, and hugely inspiring, and they should be rightly be proud of their awards.”
Asher worked with a local church group and a number of local parents and ex-offenders living on the estate to set up a range of activities to help young people develop positive and healthy interests as an alternative to drifting into a life of gang related crime. She also opened up her own home to young people as a safe space to socialise and be taught a range of activities and she helped to create an informal peer-mentoring programme that encouraged young adults on the estate to mentor their younger peers and discourage them from getting involved in gangs.
