As we approach the end of the year, we checked in with our ACT-AS-1 Partnership Manager, Rachel Henry to find out how the last 18 months have been for the ACT-AS-1 team:

“Last month, ACT-AS-1 hosted a celebration event, bringing our network together and looking back on the achievements of the last 18 months. Following this event and as 2022 draws to a close, I want to reflect on the impact of this collaboration and thank everyone who has worked alongside us to increase support and opportunities for young people and help make our communities safer and more connected.

As a consortium we have worked with young people, parents, schools, Newham Council, NHS, police and numerous voluntary, community and faith groups. All individuals within this system have a part to play in keeping young people safe and it’s only when we work together that we can create the greatest change. Fight for Peace is committed to collaboration as a way of working and we trust these partnerships will last long beyond our funded activity so we can continue to work together to provide better support for young people.

The partners we work with have a deep care for young people. Many youth workers have grown up in the area and felt like no one cared about them and that’s why they want to spend their time investing in young people today. For many it’s not just a job; it’s a calling.

The celebration event was about recognising the passion and the tireless work of all our partners and shining a light on a few examples of what has been achieved through this funding, some of which are highlighted below. 

Our consortium partners have teams of youth workers out in our communities five nights a week, during the after school period and into the early evening. The teams have had over 4000 engagements with young people over the last 18 months, responding to safety concerns, providing mentoring support and signposting to other services and opportunities. 

Through our partners’ mentoring and casework, young people have received intensive support to realise their potential, with some moving into employment, further education, and accessing funding to support their learning and career goals. One young person even had the opportunity to shadow the Mayor of Newham! 

Our Youth Leadership Group alongside other community members, have been part of a panel deciding which organisations receive funding through our grassroots fund, which we call the Neighbourhood Wallet. 

Through the Neighbourhood Wallet we’ve had the privilege of working with grassroots organisations with innovative projects which have benefited the local community. One of these is the Community Shop Newham who created a community shop for handmade artists in the local community. They gave young people the support and a platform to sell their handmade goods online and in-store. One of their achievements was being promoted on the Emirates cable cars through which the traders made almost £3000 worth of sales during their first month of business.

We continue to bring the community together for events to listen to and learn from each other. We are also developing a Roundtable network of organisations skilled at working with young people most at risk to improve the join up between our services. Our collaboration so far has leveraged additional funding beyond our target area to complement the ACT-AS-1 work.

At Fight for Peace, we see partnership working as fundamental to creating long lasting change and we will continue to seek opportunities to build strong working relationships with the services and organisations across Newham that change lives every day.

Thank you to everyone who has worked with us and we look forward to continuing the work next year and beyond.”