The Mayor of London, , has today announced that his
Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) has invested £200,000 to deliver
sports activities starting over the Easter holidays for up to
1,000 young people in areas experiencing higher levels of
violence and deprivation.
The Mayor’s VRU, working alongside London Youth, has funded 100
grassroots community organisations that will be delivering
positive sports activities across 13 London boroughs. Hundreds of
young people will get access to a range of sport and physical
activity from today and during the Easter holidays.
Rising costs in food, fuel and travel can often be barriers to
young people being able to access positive opportunities. To
break down these barriers and ensure children and young people
have access to food and can travel to take part, the VRU is
providing £1,500 ‘cost-of-living’ funding for community
organisations to support young people.
Grassroots sports groups will deliver sessions during the week
and at weekends for the holidays, and this offer will continue to
expand out of school sports opportunities to August. The
expansion of the programme after Easter will provide extensive
support for young people in areas traditionally under-served with
sports opportunities.
Over the holidays, some sports activities taking place include
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and self-defence sessions by Inspirational
Youth Ltd in Lambeth, judo sessions through the Avenues Youth
Project in Westminster, and community tennis delivering
opportunities in Brent for young people to focus on rights and
responsibility to leisure without discrimination.
The funding builds on holiday sports provision delivered through
London Youth during the summer holidays, in which nearly 60
grassroots community organisations delivered sport and physical
activity for more than 1,500 young people.
The VRU’s investment will sit alongside the Mayor’s Go! London
community sports fund which will work to improve the lives of
young Londoners facing barriers to physical, social, economic or
educational opportunities.
The Mayor of London, , said:
“Tackling violence and building a safer city for all Londoners is
my number one priority.
“My approach is to be tough on violence and tough on the complex
causes of violence.
“I’m committed to providing positive opportunities for young
people and investment from my VRU means there be will sports
activities during the Easter holidays and support to ensure there
are no barriers to children and young people’s involvement.
“I know from experience the vital role sport can play in
physical, mental and emotional wellbeing and I’m determined to do
everything I can to support young people so they can take full
advantage of these benefits.”
Lib Peck, Director of London’s Violence Reduction Unit,
said:
“A key part of our prevention approach to violence is investing
in positive opportunities for children and young people.
“Sports activities can play a leading role in a young person’s
life and as a Violence Reduction Unit, our focus is not only
funding those important interventions but also ensuring we’re
supporting young people so they can fully access them. We know
the cost-of-living is having an impact on our communities and
that’s why we’re also investing in our grassroots community
organisations, who play such a key role in the fabric of our
neighbourhoods, so they can support young people to thrive both
during the holidays and beyond.”
John Jones, London Youth Sports Development Manager,
said:
“We know that sport is a source of hope and key youthwork tool
for supporting young people fulfill their potential outside of
the school gates.
“We are proud to be working in partnership with Mayor and his
Violence Reduction Unit through our Getting Active Movement, to
ensure underserved young Londoners have increased access to
quality out of school opportunities during term time as well as
summer holidays. Crucially, this is backed up by cost-of-living
support for frontline youth professionals and grassroot community
youth organisations, so they can keep providing the safety net,
support structure and springboard young people in our city need.”
Youth Worker, Lewisham, about the impact this funding
will have:
“This support is vital in keeping the doors open to positive
opportunities for some of the most underserved young people who
are worried about their future, due to the cost-of-living
crisis.
“By providing regular sport sessions in communities which have
little or no sports provision, we’ll build community cohesion and
foster new friendships and networks which will surpass this
funding round.”
