Young people are a powerful force for good

Buried deep in the recent storm of media coverage was a positive and uplifting story about a group of teenagers in Bradford who had given up part of their summer holidays to collect food for the homeless.

The volunteers, aged between 15 and 17, said they hoped to show young people they could make a positive contribution to their home city. The teenagers, who call themselves ‘The Streets’, also hope to collect money and toiletries for Bradford’s homeless.

It’s stories like these that illustrate why, despite the images and rolling news of the rioting across our major cities, we shouldn’t make rash judgments and tar our nation’s young people with the same brush.

We were all shocked and appalled by the recent riots – and the communities that have been affected by them, many of which were already at a disadvantage, will now need a lot of support as they begin the rebuilding process.

It’s important, however, that we do not allow these riots to lead to the demonisation of young people. The vast majority of young people were not involved in criminal activity and, in fact, bore the brunt of it along with their communities.

Rather than viewing young people with fear and suspicion, the imperative now needs to be on a redoubling of efforts to help build relationships between young people and their communities, and recognising what a powerful force for good they are in our society.

That doesn’t mean we don’t need to mind our young people.  Indeed, returning to Bradford for a moment – which had its own violent riots a decade ago you will remember – whilst some of its teenagers are helping the homeless, parents and grandparents are looking out for young people too.

Four years ago the city’s churches banded together to form Street Angels, a voluntary group who patrol the streets between 8pm and 2am specifically to ensure that young people get home safe after a night out and to reduce the temptation of criminal behaviour.

The police credit Street Angels with a tangible reduction in city centre crime and Bradford’s Telegraph & Argus newspaper’s editorial said, of Street Angels: ‘…the group lived up to and, indeed, surpassed expectations. It has become a familiar and cherished part of the city’s nightlife, appreciated by revellers and the police alike.’

This approach does not judge young people for going out and having a good time.  It rises above sweeping statements and puts community safety first.

Groundwork, and other similar organisations who work with young people, have vast experience of providing them with the support they need to build their confidence to make informed life choices.  Indeed, Groundwork was established following the riots of the 80s to help bring communities together by taking joint action to improve their local environment.

By putting young people at the heart of services that affect them and helping them to work with their communities to devise solutions to local needs, we stand a far greater chance of encouraging local ownership and creating self-sustaining local groups.

‘The House’ – an initiative to transform youth provision by offering activities and education for 13 to 19 year olds in St Austell, Cornwall – is a great example of this.

By working closely with local young people, Groundwork identified strong demand for a youth centre in the town. The young people themselves raised over £60,000, putting them firmly at the core of the project.

They now play a key role in determining how The House develops and in its management, including deciding what activities and services should be offered and what staff should be recruited.  They have been given the tools and support to take a stake in their community, in their future, and they have seized the opportunity.

This brings untold benefits for participants. Nick Fiddock, who has been in 57 different care homes and is still only 17, says in this short video, that his behaviour has changed dramatically having taken part.

Before getting involved in The House Nick recalls a time where he drank and got into trouble, spending nights in cells and not having any sense of direction or responsibility. Now, he feels his experiences at The House, in particular getting involved in writing and performing songs, have encouraged him to reflect on his childhood of being fostered by numerous families and channel his life experiences into studying social care at university.

It’s projects like these that help to give young people optimism for the future and the confidence to challenge what, even prior to the events of this month, were already very negative adult preconceptions of them.

When asked why he took part in The Streets project in Bradford, Zeshan Saleem, said, ‘Everyone thinks young people are up to no good. We want to prove them wrong.’

Let’s remember the millions of young people – the vast majority – who weren’t involved in the riots last week, and let’s applaud those of them who have got involved in their community even in the smallest way.  Let’s be proud of our young people. We must not pin the blame for last week’s violence and mindless idiocy on our young people.

Each generation has to find its own way and, as on display in Bradford, solutions to local problems tend to be found by local people. Let’s give them the support, and, yes, resources to do just that.