As violence affecting young people shows no sign of declining, a new project led by the charity Barnardo’s will work to prevent south London teens becoming involved in violent crime.
The £360,000 initiative will work with schools, community groups and families in Lambeth, Southwark and Croydon to help young people make better life choices.
Funded with National Lottery money via the Big Lottery Fund, the project was commissioned after research showed a 51 per cent rise between 2012 and 2014 in the number of young girls committing criminal offences in Lambeth and a 32 per cent rise in Croydon.
It will involve forums and meetings for parents and families referred through social care, year group sessions with staff and parents at schools, and targeted one-to-one support from project workers.
It is based on Barnado’s YouTurn, an initiative that carried out work sessions with young people in Southwark and Lambeth between 2012 and 2015.
Lynn Gradwell, director of Barnardo’s in London said: “Too often, young people in south London find themselves being pressured into situations involving gangs and violence,” she said.
“Just a few poor decisions can lead to a chain of events from which both boys and girls find it very hard to escape”.
