Khan says local partnerships ‘key’ to tackling violence on Tottenham visit

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan visited Tottenham Hale yesterday (Wednesday 10th) to find out more about a local violence reduction programme.

The mayor was invited to the Engine Room, a community centre in Tottenham Hale, to hear from young people and their youth workers about the work being done to reduce violence and engage young people through the ‘Home Cooked’ project.

Also in attendance was Joanne McCartney, deputy mayor and London Assembly member for Enfield and Haringey; Lib Peck, director of City Hall’s violence reduction unit (VRU); Haringey Council leader Peray Ahmet; and Tottenham MP David Lammy.

The day started off with a presentation on knife crime from the Met Police’s local safer neighbourhoods team. Youth engagement and diversion lead, PC Ahmed, explained the dangers of carrying a knife, and Superintendent Rhona Hunt said: “Tackling violent crime and what drives it is the top priority for us all in the Met.

“Partnership working is key to tackling serious youth violence, and ensuring that we have a joined-up approach to help those most vulnerable.”

Launched last year, Home Cooked is a violence reduction project specifically for Tottenham Hale which is supported by City Hall’s VRU, via the MyEnds programme. Using a ‘bottom-up’ approach to bring young people and the wider community together to collaboratively reduce violence, the project is delivered by a consortium led by the Bridge Renewal Trust, with support from Father2Father, The Godwin Lawson Foundation, Mind In Haringey and the North London Partnership Consortium (NLPC).

Young people who live in Tottenham Hale shared their experiences of being on the Home Cooked programme and how it has benefited them throughout their engagement with local youth organisations. One said: “It has changed me and made me a better person.”

Lib Peck further explained how the VRU was supporting the work of programmes like Home Cooked. She said: “London’s violence reduction unit is leading an approach to tackling violence that is rooted in partnership, prevention and early intervention.

“This includes measures to support families, funding to keep young people in education, investment in the vital role played by youth workers and mentors, and support and resources for communities – as we’ve seen in the VRU’s MyEnds project in Tottenham today – to tackle the issues affecting their neighbourhoods.”

Rachel Hughes, chair of The Bridge Renewal Trust which hosted Wednesday’s event at the Engine Room, said: “Thanks to the £750,000 funding from the mayor’s London violence reduction unit to our Home Cooked MyEnds partnership, we have brought together local young people, wider community and partner agencies to tackle the root causes of violence in Tottenham Hale.”

Earlier this year, Sadiq made an additional £9million investment into the MyEnds programme to extend its delivery of empowering young people and their communities to reduce youth violence across Brent, Croydon, Hackney, Haringey, Lambeth, Newham, Southwark and Tower Hamlets.

Sadiq said: “The only way to achieve the further reductions in violence and growth in community confidence we all want to see is through deliberate, well-coordinated and well-funded partnership work.

“From City Hall we are supporting our dedicated neighbourhood police officers and investing record amounts in initiatives to support young Londoners at critical stages in their lives. But more must be done.”