Gangs & Sustainability

The gang wars in South London have done much to spread fear among young people in their own neighbourhoods. One of the symptoms of this situation is a rise in violent crimes.

In the award-winning X-it programme (www.x-itonline.co.uk), young people address the issue of serious crime in their age group. They are supported to plan their projects in a Youth Enterprise Studio that becomes one of the few places where they can let their guard down and focus on positive goals.

This project was developed by one of the Contented consortium's partners in South London, Melanin Partnership, which is dedicated to creating sustainable communities. Their focus is on young people age 13-23 who are hard to reach and they also work with associates in Germany, South Africa, Wales, UK and Denmark.

The project encourage leadership and entrepreneurship, supports, develops citizenship and independence.

Through the peer coaching and mentoring we are supporting them to create more safety in their own community by drawing more of their own peers into the range of projects they are undertaking. Many of these young people have been identified as vulnerable, as the eco-system in which they live offers little to prevent them returning to crime and unhealthy lifestyles. Contact
with accessible role models is essential so that there is a realistic possibility that they can make the much needed changes in their lives.

A healthy attitude to life is promoted at every level of engagement with the young people. Informal and formal mentoring plays a strong role in showing the young people a myriad of different possible futures. The risks of returning to previous lifestyles are pointed out directly and indirectly through storytelling and through creating safe spaces for them to share the
realities of their daily lives both with the mentors and with each other.

As the young people have worked within the programme, we have seen their behaviour change for the better. They are more confident about what they offer to their environment and have been recognised via various organisations and institutions as important young leaders addressing the problems of gang culture in South London.

They are gradually understanding the role of social responsibility and how, as a collective representing both the current challenges and potential in youth, their combined actions can compound to make a marked impact on the
livelihood of their communities. Furthermore they are learning to integrate the principles of sustainability at every level of their project; from recycling to understanding more deeply the consumer -driven society and the
values built into the production cycle, they are understanding the huge number of connections between environmental and social issues.