Successful youth programme to get fresh funding

A scheme to stop young people in Haringey from becoming involved in crime is set to continue for another year.

Haringey Community Gold, which provides education, sport, culture and a range of other opportunities for youngsters, has secured funding for 2022/23 after beating its targets during the previous three years.

A partnership between Haringey Council and nine community-based organisations, the programme reached 6,924 young people during its first three years – above the target of 6,000. Some 55% of those engaged completed at least one activity, compared to a target of 25%.

Plans to continue the project during 2022/23 were presented to a meeting of Haringey’s community safety partnership on Monday. They reveal the council and its partners hope to reach 1,600 young people and achieve a 15% reduction in reoffending rates for knife and drug offences among those engaged with the programme.

Haringey Community Gold received £1.5million from the Mayor of London’s Young Londoners Fund to deliver the initial three-year programme. They have now secured funding from City Hall’s violence reduction unit (VRU) to continue the scheme.

Eduardo Araujo, senior Tottenham community safety manager, told the meeting that the planned focus for the coming year was to work with young people over longer periods of time to reduce crime.

Two areas previously covered by the scheme – employment support and mental health – will be dealt with by other providers. Tottenham Hotspur has agreed to provide employment support for 16 and 17-year-olds, while recruitment service Haringey Works will take on those aged 18 and over. Mind, a charity, will provide mental health support sessions.

Eduardo said the Haringey Community Gold team would not stop engaging people on employment and mental health but would direct them to the partners that provide the support.

He added: “In terms of outreach work, we are going to carry on doing a lot of work in schools, particularly around five-week empowerment sessions that we deliver and empower young people with a lot of knowledge around how to keep safe from dangers locally. We are still to have one session where a young person has not approached us with requests for support.

Eduardo said the scheme was currently receiving only £170,000 from the VRU and was “constantly on the lookout for additional funding to provide capacity for the voluntary sector”.

The continuation of the scheme is subject to approval by the council’s cabinet.