Baytree is extremely pleased to be part of a new partnership called Ecosystem Coldharbour, part of the ‘My Ends’ programme funded by the Government’s Violence Reduction Unit. This isa network of interconnecting and interacting drivers of change working to reduce adverse experiences in the Coldharbour Ward of Lambeth – a locality historically affected by high and sustained levels of crime, youth and gang violence.
The newly formed Ecosystem Coldharbour Consortium brings together well-respected community organisations which have experience of leading violence reduction initiatives in the area:ML Community Enterprise (lead partner); The Baytree Centre; Spiral Skills; Football Beyond Borders; Big Local Impact; Ebony Horse Club; Longfield Hall Trust & CHIPS.
It aims to address root causes of violence affecting young people and provide positive opportunities for them with a specific focus on tailored interventions.
The area of focus is Coldharbour Ward and while the spread of this work will be fluid and inclusive, it will be focused on the ward’s largest estates of Angell Town, Loughborough and Moorlands as well as central Brixton.
Coldharbour is one of Lambeth’s most violent wards and has one of the highest rates of serious youth violence in London and features highly across other violent offences and knife enabled crime together with unemployment and poor mental and physical health.
Youth violence in Coldharbour is driven by several factors such as marginalisation, deprivation and poverty, victimisation, and gang culture.
‘MyEnds’ funding, Ecosystem Coldharbour will:
- Support a local network of grieving mothers and families impacted by youth violence.
- Develop a network of community organisations in Coldharbour and offering them training and grants.
- Recruit and train passionate young people with the skills and lived experience to support their peers through mentorship schemes.
- Provide one-to-one therapeutic sessions around wellbeing and mental health for young people
- Use youth work as a diversionary activity that gives young people a positive path away from violence
- Alongside building local networks and developing grass roots groups, we’re creating an innovative ‘young connector’ development model. This collective of local young people will train, learn and work together, becoming the next generation of trauma-informed change makers with the skills, lived experience and relationships to have a dramatic impact on both the frequency of youth violence and its trauma on the wider community.
