Back Page: And this is what I do - Jay Blades, communityconsultant, Street Dreams

What does your work involve? Going out on the streets in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire and finding out what young people are doing. I then arrange meetings with them to solve problems that can lead to antisocial behaviour. The majority of the time we act as mediators, either getting young people to meet authority figures or members of a rival gang. We also run events such as the Oxford Community World Cup, which involved people from 64 countries playing football.

Who do you work alongside? I run the project with my colleague Jade Erguvanli and five volunteers. The scheme is run in partnership with Thames Valley Police, local authorities, youth offending teams and the fire services.

How did it all start? Jade and I started the project in 2000 after my role as a community volunteer gave me an insight into young people's problems.

We got together with a group of local young people and decided we were going to change the world.

What's the hardest part of the job?

We've had some hair-raising workshops and some heated debates. We've come across some local authority figures who have lost touch with what is happening on the streets. Some still believe that young people should be wearing shorts and flat caps and have a Ready Brek glow around them.

What's your most challenging experience? It was a project we ran last year in Banbury, where police were reporting four or five racial incidents each week. We spent six months in workshops with about 85 of the known offenders, and during that time we only had one racial incident. The young people said they weren't racist, they were just bored.