While working with Northants youth services, a role came up working in Corby. It was an area I knew well, and although it has had a lot of problems since the closure of the steelworks, there is a strong community ethos and there have been many improvements in recent years.

My work here has been trying to build on that sense of community and bridge the gap between the generations. There had been no youth intervention here for about 10 years, but we have managed to tackle antisocial behaviour and reduce crime substantially by engaging with young people.

We have tried to be imaginative about our programmes, with activities such as midnight basketball, but also by genuinely involving young people. Initiatives such as Buzz Off have seen Corby young people taking the lead nationally on bringing the issue of mosquito alarms to the fore. In Corby, we have worked with the police and the borough council to have them removed. We have also received funding for a detached youth work team and have targeted hot spots where we intervene before it gets to the stage where there has to be enforcement.

The challenges in the area have changed. There has been a lot of migrant workers moving to the area who have been viewed with suspicion by young people. I have been working with schools and young people to build respect for them.

As part of the Friendly Neighbourhood Programme, we have put in parks and gardens. Although we all want our environment to be good, if we don't work to improve community cohesion and respect, then it won't matter how many parks we have.