Fathers' group steers boys away from a life of gangs
Laura McCardle
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
When his 16-year-old son was killed in a gang-related attack in May 2009, James Gregory wanted to take positive action to support young people living in deprived areas of Manchester to steer clear of crime.
Provider: James Gregory
Name: Fathers Against Violence
James Gregory's fears for the impact of gang violence on local communities, as well as a lack of support for grieving fathers, led him to launch Fathers Against Violence (FAV) in January 2011, on what would have been his son Guiseppe's 18th birthday.
The aim of the community project is to prevent similar tragic events happening to other families, and Gregory hopes one way of achieving this is by engaging young people in participation programmes.
FAV also targets fathers, who Gregory wants to engage in mentoring programmes so that they can act as positive male role models to their children and other young people in their communities.
Explaining his vision for FAV, he said: "It's a sharing experience. I think sometimes a real story can really take with people, as well as the way I've taken action - I'm a victim who is taking action."
Before launching the project, Gregory spent time with Mothers Against Violence, which was launched in 1999 in response to four shootings in the space of just one week in Manchester.
He learned how support organisations can make a difference to the lives of the people it works with and how to run a community interest company (CIC).
Gregory now dedicates his time on a voluntary basis to running FAV from its base at the Kath Locke Community Resource Centre in the Moss Side area of the city. He has worked with more than 200 young people over the past two and a half years, keeping them off the streets and helping them steer clear of gang violence.
Many of the young people who become involved with FAV hear about the project from friends, but a number also become engaged after meeting Gregory on the streets of Moss Side.
He said: "Moss Side has a long history of gang violence. I go there independently with no agenda.
"Speaking to me on the street corner makes it a bit more accessible."
Most recently, he launched the Can U Kick It? initiative, which provides free weekly football training sessions to boys aged between seven and 16. The sessions are led by volunteer coaches, who also act as mentors to help boost the boys' confidence and prevent them from becoming involved with gangs.
Gregory said of the initiative: "Everything has been grassroots community-led. The boys are really eager to be part of a group, they are really excited.
"We are looking to start our football academy, but with other sports included within that and it will be for girls as well as boys. It is to give them the opportunities that maybe we didn't have. It's to give them that opportunity and someone they can build trust and relationships with."
Through FAV Gregory also offers media training to young people interested in learning new skills, including djing and MC skills.
He wants to extend his reach and partner with other organisations, charities and services in an attempt to provide joined-up, collaborative support to the young people who are most in need.
Gregory explained: "It is very important that we come together as a society, whether you're in government or are a voluntary organisation or are a councillor.
"It is a social issue that affects everybody, especially the young person who might be pressured into making the wrong decision for themselves. Just having the stability around FAV could turn them away from gang violence, maybe not yet but soon."
Early next year, Gregory plans to work with the Crown Prosecution Service to develop a project around gang culture and the impact it has on young people, their families and the local community.
FAV relies solely on funding from external sources and has received grants from a variety of organisations, including Manchester City Council and the Home Office's Communities Against Guns, Gangs and Knives Fund, but Gregory hopes to establish FAV as a registered charity to enable him to continue supporting young people and fathers for as long as possible.
He said: "There is always one life to save and if I can save that one life then I feel that what I am doing is worthwhile."