‘Young Person (18) stabbed’ ‘16 year old girl robbed at gun point’ ‘Knives have become a fashion accessory among teenagers’ ‘Young person killed in cross fire’

It seems we can’t escape shocking headlines that are becoming standard fare for society’s media. If the headlines are to be believed then we are dealing with an issue that is out of control and one where there is no help or way out for young people involved.
According to recent Police reports there are around 200 gangs in London alone and according to a recent news report as many as 4 in ten young people have admitted to carrying a knife for protection.

Whilst this might be a gloomy picture there are projects out there that make a difference.
I spent the morning with Junior Smart; Team Leader for the ground breaking SOS Gangs Project under London Charity St Giles Trust to find out why his project is successful and what can be done to turn the tide concerning young people, gangs and violence.

Junior Smart is softly spoken thirty something male. An ex-gang member, his offence led to a ten year sentence inside prison and a meeting with St Giles which operate in a number of prisons around the country. Thanks to St Giles and initial funding by Southwark Council, The SOS Gangs project was born; the first complete ex-offender led project in the country. That was back in 2006, since then the project has been seen as best practice four years running and received critical acclaim. Even more importantly thanks to the project he set up around 300 young people involved in or at risk of gang involvement have seen their lives transformed as a result. This has earned him the nickname ‘the million dollar man’ by his contemporaries for the millions his project has potentially saved society.

He sits opposite me smiling – “Some people think that the best idea is to just lock these young people up, but they either forget or don’t know how much it actually costs. It costs around £40,000 to keep just one offender in custody for a year, multiply that by the current prison population (which is 86,000 and rising) and we literally are talking billions of pounds of tax payers money. When you think that 75% of young people who leave prison go on to re-offend within 2 years its just jaw dropping to think just how much money is wasted.

He chuckles – it actually costs more money to send a young person to prison than it does to send them to Eton college, can you believe it?”

I nod my head in absolute amazement; it is true that we are living in times where we are reminded consistently that there are cutbacks because every penny counts. But I am interested to know what the project is and how it works.

“SOS Gangs project is a tailor-made, holistic support scheme which is proactive in prisons and the communities” he explains, “Our core goal is to reduce re-offending by creating opportunities for change. We engage young people with the aim of helping them build realistic goals for the future and assist them to get back into education, training and employment. It needs to be tailor made because when you think about it, every individual has their own unique reasons for offending. It might be financial, it might be peer pressure, it might be grounded in their lack of self identity or embedded in where they live. The problem with common punitive punishments is that it adopts a blanket approach to all and never addresses any underlying issues, whereas with the project we take the offence as just a small part of a bigger picture.”

It is this core goal that has been the SOS Project’s prime area of achievement. In the four years that the project has been running over 300 young people have been reached with just 12% being recalled for further offences against the national average of 75%.

“Where there are underlying issues we address them, working with other agencies as necessary. So for example we might assist with helping them find accommodation or to move to a different area to get away from old associates, we might assist them in breaking free of their drug habits or in being violent to their partner.”

I am curious to know why the SOS project has succeeded
.
“I think our success has been down to a number of reasons, firstly we are completely ex-offender led, which always seems to be a bit taboo, but when you think about it, it makes absolute sense, who better to assist ex-offenders and young people than someone who has actually been there and done it, we are infinitely more credible because we know the challenges, and the pressures on young people; we know the terrain and its pitfalls. Secondly all the workers are passionate about what they do; they really care about making a difference. Finally we offer complete on-going support so our cases aren’t time bound. We are there until the needs are met.”

I ask about youth violence and gangs. Junior is quick to enlighten me. “I dislike the term ‘gang’ because of the way the media have blown it up out of proportion. Although the truth is quite serious, in reality it is not as bleak as the media would have us believe” he explains “for example it is not against the law to be in a gang, and in fact quite a few of the young people we work with don’t think that they are in anything more than a group of friends until things get out of hand. It’s then that they think they have no choice but to make a stand. So when we are working with young people what we are actually targeting their behaviour because it is that which creates the fear and the need to defend or protect. It is also that what creates the impression to the public that every group of young people on an estate or on the street is in a gang. The sad thing is just by fear alone a young person will carry a knife and then either end up arrested, with a criminal record or a worse still a victim.”

I ask if it possible that a perpetrator could also be a victim, Junior agrees “A lot of young people aren’t aware that around 60% of those that carry a knife end up stabbed with their own weapon. So when we work with clients, and in schools and communities we impart tools for young people to use on a daily basis for example around managing conflict so they are empowered to make better informed decisions.”

I ask about the recent headlines in the press. The room goes quiet, junior responds.
“It is the victims I feel really sorry for, it might be easy for cynics to think that because we are ex-offenders we are more on the side of the offender than anything else but that is simply not true. We do what we do to prevent victims. My first experience of crime was when I was just four years old and our home was burgled. I saw my mother go from being a top nurse to being a recluse in her own home. Part of me is infuriated at the way the system treats victims, it is almost as if they have an unspoken voice once an offender is arrested and, equally from an offenders perspective they never truly have to take into account the impact that their behaviour has had not just on people but on their community.” He looks at me seriously “it’s an understatement that not enough is being done, that’s why I am a big fan of alternatives such restorative justice and whenever possible we try to mediate on behalf of the client with the families and communities involved.”

So in this time of cuts does Junior think will there be any reduction with regard to the project I ask. Junior shrugs “You know, we are dealing with uncertain times and whilst we have been really fortunate that Southwark council and T2A have kept us going we are a charity and depend on the support of the people, charitable trusts and funds to stay where we are. It is really strange, because in times like this people always try and re-invent the wheel and instead of going with what works, they go with what does’nt. For me I am more concerned about the clients because if we are not here where do they go.”

Junior takes a strong look at the headlines and makes an acute point – “The problem is with the headlines is that it tends to make it very easy to forget that these are actually just young people. Someone’s son someone’s brother, uncle, sister or even father. Every time I hear or see a news report I am reminded of why I do what I do. These are young people with needs, with aspirations, just with the wrong motivation and they need our help.”

Case studies

Southwark case study

Client A – aged 22, this client is the eldest in a single parent family of two younger brothers.

Not typical of a criminal background this client did well at school and had ambitions of going to the army. He entered into pre-entry training in the armed forces at the age of 16. However during an exercise the client was caught in a fire and received serious burns to his hands and face. This had an emotional and psychological effect resulting in the client being medically discharged. The client became emotionally despondent and was diagnosed with depression. This became a catalyst for negative thinking and behaviour and subsequent drug use. Client A began to drift into negative circles and became involved in petty crime escalating to a street robbery, for which he received an 8 month prison sentence. He was released with no support, and then he committed another offence; burglary for which he received an 18 month prison sentence for which he was released January earlier this year. He came across the SOS Project through probation who had heard about our work. They who referred him to us because – like the last time he was released – he had no support networks and would yet again be homeless. They were also concerned that he would once more become involved in criminal activity and this time the seriousness would escalate. We began working with him in April; a credible mentor from SOS Project meeting him for the first time at his home. Since that time we have stabilised his living conditions by finding him permanent private rented accommodation. By working holistically and by networking with other agencies we engaged him with NACRO education and employment team to increase his employability skills. Client A has identified that he would like to go to college in September to study plumbing or computing. We are providing ongoing support to assist him in achieving this. Our SOS Project caseworker speaks to the Client 2-3 times a week, seeing him in person at least once a week. Our work with Client A continues and our focus with him is on self-empowerment and independent living. Client A attributes his turn around down to the caseworker he has working with him in his own words “if I didn’t have his support there is no way I would be where I am now”

Ashfield Case study – Client B

I met Client B on my first visit to Ashfield where he was serving his 2nd custodial sentence.

Prior to B’s first custodial sentence he was living with his step mother in south east London. Due to the nature of his first offence he was unable to return to the family home. Having never met his birth mother and an extremely troubled relationship with his father he was released with minimal support from social services. Post release Client B was homeless in an area where he knew no one and had very little support. As a consequence he re-offended and was given a custodial sentence. He was just 16 years of age at this time.

During his second custodial sentence he was granted his early release but with no accommodation he was unable to be released.

A second referral was made to children’s services which was returned. The case was finally accepted and Client B was found to be ‘a child in need’ by social services, which means that they were obliged to provide suitable Temporary Accommodation (T/A). So Client B was released without prior notification and told to report to his YOT where he was accommodated for the weekend.

Once his T/A had run out he was told to go to the Homeless Persons Unit to be housed as a homeless person. He was later found intentionally homeless and was offered no other help. He was provided with accommodation for one night by St Giles Trust.

Our SOS Ashfield worker consulted his solicitor and after which high court proceedings were started against the Local authority for them to find him as a child in need under sec.17 of the children’s act. The case was finally heard at the High Court and the local authority were found to be neglecting their duty of care and were order to provide Client B with suitable accommodation and support.

Client B has been working with the SOS project for nearly 9 months and is now attending college full time with aspirations of owning his own business one day.

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