Agenda item

To consider progress with the Haringey Community Gold initiative.

Eduardo Araujo, Senior Tottenham Community Safety Manager, reported on progress with the Haringey Community Gold initiative. 

Addressing youth violence and reducing the number of young people entering the criminal justice system were key parts of the Borough Plan and the Young People at Risk strategy.  The initiative had received approval for grant funding from the Greater London Authority in November 2018. It supported young people at risk of exclusion and those involved in or on the periphery of criminality. The programme aimed to create a network of community organisations, support existing schemes and promote new initiatives.  There was a tailor made dedicated outreach service and a range of community based agencies that aimed to engage disenfranchised youth in a range of settings. The strengths based approach aimed to create practical pathways and maximise opportunities for young people to achieve their potential.

Performance in 2020 had proven to be reasonably successful.  There had been a target of 2000 for engagement and 2119 had been achieved.  809 individuals had completed activities against a target of 500.  209 young people had completed employability training.  There had been an increase in demand for mental health support, with the number of young people accessing services increasing from 14 to 41.   18 young people had become involved in the Youth Advisory Board, who was now meeting virtually and on a weekly basis.  Three quarters of young people that the initiative had engaged with were young black males between the ages of 14 and 18.  They came from all wards of the borough, with the largest number coming from Northumberland Park.  Some participants had also come from other boroughs due to the work that had taken place with the College of North East London (CoNEL), with the largest percentage coming from Enfield.  Referrals came from a wide range of sources and included several looked after children.

Moving forward, the initiative was looking to refresh its look and provide a clearer image.  Much of the work had moved on-line during the pandemic and there was a need to ensure that the initiative caught the attention of young people.   The programme had originally been designed to operate on a face-to-face basis and work had continued with schools during lockdown as well as outreach.  Evaluation of the first year of the initiative had given it bronze status and it was intended to achieve silver status for future years. 

In answer to a question, Eubert Malcolm (Assistant Director for Safer and Stronger Communities) stated that the Council’s Young People at Risk strategy sought to keep young people safe and out of criminality.  This was through early intervention and diversionary activities. A whole systems approach was being adopted and initiatives involved working with community groups, parents and young people.  The causes of serious youth violence were complex though and there were no easy answers.  Criminality had dropped by 14% in Haringey in the last year, which was one of the biggest reductions in London.   This included robbery and violent crimes.  A careful eye was kept on statistics.  Discussions had taken place across the Council and with partners on how this could be maintained.  Despite the progress that had been made, there had still been some sad and unfortunate incidents though.

In answer to a question regarding involvement of girls and young women in Haringey Gold initiatives, Mr. Araujo reported that the first year of the initiative had been male dominated but action had been taken since then to address this.  This included workshops for girls that had been organised through Exodus.  The initiative was currently in the process of re-entering primary schools and would be undertaking work with children in Year 6.  The focus of work would be on the transition to secondary school and developing healthy relationships.  Data on disability was picked up and, in particular, special educational needs.   

In answer to another question, he stated that the initiative was happy to work with groups of young people from eastern Europe.   In addition, they had already been working with young refugees.  Consideration was being given to extending provision for children with disabilities.  The 193 young people who had improved well-being came from two projects.  629 had improved behaviour and attainment at school.  37 young people had gained employment.  450 had stated that they wanted help with finding a job though and the support that had been provided had focussed on improving their confidence.  Support had been provided to enable the 41 young people that had requested help to access mental health services.   Mr Malcolm commented that support for young people who had gained employment needed to be ongoing to ensure that they stayed in work.