Community support offers hope to children affected by Grenfell

We are approaching the first anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire and there is no lessening of anger or the feelings of hurt in the North Kensington community. Emotions remain raw and a febrile atmosphere can emerge at times. Previously innocuous events take on a whole new meaning. The recent opening of a Pret-A-Manger on the site of a former community advice centre has been met with street protests and calls for a boycott.

Trust in the local authority and authority in general has been badly damaged. Mistrust and disbelief abounds. The young people we work with feel these emotions keenly. A sense of disenfranchisement and not being heard or valued is prevalent. Nothing new for young people, perhaps, but the disaster has amplified their resentment.

One hesitates to talk about positives in the wake of such a dreadful event, but the response of the community and local organisations in the immediate aftermath has rightly been praised. At Epic CIC we were in every sense overwhelmed by the volume of donations, volunteers and offers of help from local people and businesses. Local partners the Rugby Portobello Trust, the Harrow Club, Clement James and others had similar experiences and we worked together to do what we could to provide support to survivors. That spirit of solidarity and cooperation survives.

Coming together

Also very welcome was the leadership shown by John Lyon's Charity in establishing a network of funders willing to short circuit their usual funding processes in order to get money on the ground quickly (see box below). It was really encouraging to witness how local organisations came together to support each other with funding applications, ideas for projects and sharing resources.

This ethos provides a challenge to the orthodoxy that local providers constitute a market pitted against each other in competitive tendering. We neither think nor behave like that. Through the John Lyon's initiative, Epic CIC is working with partners to develop a community leaders programme for young people affected by the disaster. Funded through the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, the project aims to give voice to young people's anger and disenchantment and to channel it into social action.

Helping young people to take an active role in bringing about positive change in North Kensington is the essence of the project.

Local youth workers are redoubling their efforts to provide not only the usual engagement activities, but support and counselling as well. Indeed the trauma visited on the community has required an increase in mental health and wellbeing support with the council, health authorities and specialist providers coming to the fore.

Youth services review

Funding cuts by Kensington and Chelsea Council to youth services continue in the post Grenfell era which is a disappointment. The quality of the council's youth service facilities is also a concern.

That said, the council retains a commitment to funding youth and play services to levels beyond many authorities. A root and branch review of youth services has been launched which the council promises will be community led.

There are encouraging signs that this will be a genuine collaboration with young people, the community and local providers. This is an opportunity for the council to use its funding and expertise to rebuild the trust that has been lost.

We plan to mark the first anniversary of that terrible night with a display of community solidarity. Local youth providers are combining under the banner of ‘North Kensington Youth' to organise a young people's festival on 30 June.

This will be an opportunity for us all to come together to remember those who have been lost but also to focus on how we can create a better future for young people.

Rebuilding trust is a long-term project - years rather than months. A firm commitment to the futures of the borough's young people is a good place to start. Much remains to be done but young people will be instrumental in the healing process.

• Brendan O'Keefe is managing director of Epic Community Interest Company, which delivers youth services in Kensington and Chelsea

Voluntary sector support
Charity acts as a bridge between funders, council and community groups to fast track help

One of the few positives to come out of the Grenfell disaster has been the way that local community and voluntary groups collaborated to provide ongoing support to those affected.

Recognising that children in particular could struggle to come to terms with the disaster and have ongoing needs, funders established the Grenfell Tower Response Children and Young People Funders Coalition. This included BBC Children in Need, Big Lottery Fund, Caritas Westminster, City Bridge Trust, Comic Relief, DHL, the Department for Education, John Lyon's Charity (JLC), Jack Petchey Foundation, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Tudor Trust, Kensington & Chelsea Foundation London Funders and Kensington and Chelsea Council.

JLC agreed to bring funders to the table to ensure that the small community organisations working directly with children and young people in the area had funding made available to them as efficiently as possible."We've worked in Kensington and Chelsea since 1991," says JLC grants director, Cathryn Pender. "We have a strong relationship with the local authority and only fund organisations supporting children and young people in north west London."

The coalition ran two phases of funding. Phase one saw funders provide grants of £1.07m to 61 organisations to deliver services and projects for children and young people in the summer holiday period. These ranged from day trips to the running of free activities.

Phase two saw organisations apply for longer-term funding for projects delivered over the following year. These were divided into three priority areas: out of school activities; children's emotional wellbeing; and family work. A further £1.2m was provided to 53 organisations in phase two.

For both phases of the funding, organisations completed a single application form outlining their project and how much was needed. These were triaged by JLC and could then be viewed by all the funders on an online portal, created by London Funders, to make offers of grants. However, responsibility for undertaking due diligence remained with the funding organisation.

"The system enabled us to reach certain groups that wouldn't normally be able to access this sort of funding," Pender says. "We were able to say to other funders ‘we know them'."

By Derren Hayes

Council response
‘Additional support required for years'

Of the 71 people killed in the Grenfell Tower fire, 19 were children. Hundreds of others were injured or lost family members and friends. In the past year, Kensington and Chelsea Council has put in place significant additional therapeutic and practical support for around 300 children directly affected by the disaster.

The council, which bore the brunt of much local anger at its perceived lack of action in rehoming the displaced, has channelled its engagement work with children through local schools, says Ian Heggs, Bi-borough director of schools, quality and standards.

"We've used the schools as the way to get information to children and families," he explains. "In July we put in place the Grenfell education plan to provide direct support to local schools that had families affected. The council has provided additional educational psychologists (EP), learning support and extra school transport services - £700,000 has been spent already and there is no limit to that fund. More than £2m has been spent on commissioning extra activities during the summer and holiday periods also."

In total, seven schools - four primaries, two secondaries and a nursery - had pupils or members of staff that died in the disaster. Pupils at a further 11 schools lost family members, loved ones or their homes.

Helen Kerslake, lead EP for the Grenfell response, says its critical incident response saw EPs attend school briefings the morning after the fire to provide staff with support."We gave briefings on what the children might ask, how to explain to children that people were missing and the importance of using honest and reassuring language," explains Kerslake.

"Even though our head teachers were very experienced some of the teachers were quite young and children were missing - it was unprecedented in terms of the scale."

A screening programme has been in operation to help identify children that may be struggling. Meanwhile, mental health link workers have been attached to each school to ensure swift referral to specialist services if necessary.

Jane Roller, a senior EP, says she has seen children that are coping at school but struggling at home.

"Some were wetting the bed, having difficulties sleeping or being very clingy," she explains. "Triggers could be smelling smoke and hearing fire engines. Also schools had to think about how to handle fire drills. Many children had counselling or therapy."

In the lead up to the start of the public inquiry last month, and as the one-year anniversary approaches, the council has anticipated a rise in children suffering stress-related symptoms.

"It could trigger the same emotional responses as the incident itself - it will be rocky but hopefully temporary," says Kerslake.

"We've asked schools to think about their most vulnerable families - those already experiencing mental health problems or who have experienced significant bereavements. It is important for these young people and families to be active and do things," adds Kerslake.

Heggs says the council's work with the cohort of children most closely affected will continue for many years.

"The children may exhibit signs of stress that may not show until later life. We are checking with schools that they are being monitored and assessing children's progress," Heggs says.

By Derren Hayes