The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner has praised Coventry youth workers, after their interventions on the streets this summer saw 130 children and young people referred to mentoring programmes.
Eight youth workers spent every day of the 6-week school holidays engaging young people and de-escalating conflicts in parks, city centres and violence hotspots.
The teams from Sky Blues in the Community, Guiding Young Minds, Empowr-U, Guardian Ballers and Coventry Boys and Girls Club, clocked up 1,000 hours in total.
The £35,000 summer initiative was funded by the West Midlands Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) and coordinated on the ground by Coventry City Council as part of the My Tomorrow and Child Friendly Cov campaigns.
Over the last two years serious youth violence in the city has dropped by nearly a quarter (22%).
Ash McBride, Senior Community Coach at Sky Blues in the Community (SBIC) said: “Being out in the community every day gave us the chance to connect with young people on their terms. We used sports and games to break the ice in parks to start conversations with young people. It was about building trust, creating safe spaces and just being present – talking, listening, showing we cared.
“Working alongside other youth organisations meant we could cover more of the city and support more young people. Each team brought something unique and it wasn’t just about the summer, it lays the foundations for lasting change.
“Young people said they felt listened to, more seen, and you could see them grow in confidence. Their energy, honesty and resilience showed us why this work matters.”
PCC Simon Foster said: “The importance of detached youth work is often overlooked and it should get more praise. We know young people are more likely to engage with youth workers when they are out and about. It is a vital part of our commitment to preventing and tackling youth violence and keeping our young people safe.
“It would be impossible without the dedication of those youth workers on the ground who know their communities and the challenges their young people face. Coventry’s Community Safety Partnership does a brilliant job of bringing those teams together and working with them and the police to ensure they are operating in areas where they can have maximum impact. This is something which the VRP replicates across the West Midlands, with £35,000 going to each local authority area for detached youth work every year.”
Cllr Abdul Salam Khan, Chair of the Coventry Community Safety Partnership and Deputy Leader at Coventry City Council, added: “These are really encouraging statistics, and it is really good to see that so many young people have felt able to discuss issues in a comfortable setting.
“We want to build on this work, and I know that colleagues are working on ways to improve the project further in future years.
“We want to address issues that impact on young people and recognise the great contribution that our young people make to the life of the city.”
INFO
Alongside the programme, other information is provided by youth workers, from details of parks activities, to links to safe spaces, details of the holiday Activity programme and other support. Partners from the council, police, youth organisations and VRP hold a weekly meeting to review the progress of the work and plan for the week ahead and problem solve any issues. The project is linked to My Tomorrow and Child Friendly Cov.
My Tomorrow is the youth-led campaign for the West Midlands, which aims to:
- Empower young people so they can affect policies around safety and youth voice
- Encourage the public to rethink negative stereotypes about young people
- Support partners in creating and managing opportunities for youth engagement
- Inspire greater collaboration and creativity to improve the life chances of young people in our region
