Sadiq Khan ploughs £16.4m into London youth projects
Fiona Simpson
Thursday, February 6, 2020
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has invested an extra £16.4m into youth services across London aimed at preventing violent crime.
The money will be used to boost the mayor’s £45m Young Londoners Fund, which was launched in 2018.
The latest investment will go towards 74 community projects in high-crime areas of the capital and is set to help almost 40,000 more young people over the next three years, City Hall said.
One project set to benefit from the boost is the Harrow Club W10 in Kensington and Chelsea.
Youth workers and trained community volunteers work with more than 400 young people aged 10 to 21, many of whom are at a high risk of being involved in criminality.
The extra funding will allow the club’s members to visit local schools and community centres to talk about the effects of youth violence and its deterrents using film, music and drama.
Khan announced the cash boost for youth services at the Harrow Club alongside Watford FC players Andre Gray and Daniel Phillips.
#watfordfc and @SadiqKhan tackling knife crime 👊
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) February 6, 2020
What an inspiration @AndreGray7 is 💛 pic.twitter.com/WY5ckEZBzv
The mayor said: “We know the best time to stop violent crime is before it starts and it is vital we help young people make the right choices as early as possible. That means investing in our young people to give them positive opportunities and to learn from the right type of mentors.
Michael Defoe, chief executive of Harrow Club W10 said: “In 2018 the Young Londoners Fund provided us with key funding to set up our ‘Another Way’ project which provides a late-night safe-space, positive activities and mentoring support to young people who are at risk of involvement in harmful and dangerous activity that can lead to violence.
The best time to stop violent crime is before it starts. That means investing in our young people, and here at @HarrowClubW10 with @AndreGray7 I’ve announced the youth projects benefitting from the latest round of my £45m Young Londoners Fund. https://t.co/Dx7uT7k5Cs pic.twitter.com/fuVpr9mTXt
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) February 6, 2020
“We are very grateful for the support given by the mayor and his team that has enabled us to deliver this vital life-saving work.”
Earlier this week, Dorset's police and crime commissioner Martyn Underhill blamed cuts to youth services in the county for an increase in youth crime.
A recent analysis of government figures by the YMCA shows that youth services have seen £1bn of cuts in less than a decade.
