Over 10 weeks, the 16- to 19-year-olds planned and created a poster campaign to try and convey the message that crime can only end in prison or death.
All 15 of the young men involved say they have been affected by the knife crime in their local area and wanted to reach out to other young people who may be in danger of falling into gang culture and a life of crime.
Nineteen-year-old Raj Khan, says: "After nine stabbings in the Rockingham Estate between 2009 and 2010 we wanted to do something about it. We hope this poster campaign will influence young people to put down the knives and show them that there’s a path other than crime."
When coming up with the idea of starting a campaign, the group first sought help from their local Connexions team and the charity Faces in Focus, which offers young people in Southwark advice and guidance.
The group launched the Choose Life, Drop the Knife poster campaign last month with the help of photographer Niall O’Brien, illustration agency Moose & Yeti and social enterprise Poached Creative. It is hoping it will be spread across billboards and London buses to get their message to as wide an audience as possible.
Jessica Smith, director of Poached Creative, says: "The young people involved in this project have been determined to create a poster that will reach others like them and reduce the number of deaths and injuries due to knife crime in London.
"Youth-led projects like this help young people feel part of their community and build skills that will help them in the future."
The project was backed by the Peabody housing association through its youth-led Staying Safe project, funded by the Big Lottery Fund.
Too important to ignore Stephen Howlett, Peabody’s chief executive, says: "With knife crime increasing in parts of London, the message is too important to ignore.
"England needs more projects like this – projects that give young people opportunities to demonstrate knowledge, potential and responsibility, and to equip themselves with the tools to create personal and social change. Housing associations have a key role to play in developing these initiatives. We’re incredibly proud, with the help of the Big Lottery Fund, to give our support."
The group has also created two short films on issues including gangs and how a conviction can ruin a young person’s future.
In a message on the group’s Your Choice Your Future campaign website, the young people say: "We hope that we will be able to raise awareness of knife crime in London, help lower statistics for knife crime rates and show young people that there is always another way. It really is your choice, your future."
