Defending Da Hood

BASIC INFORMATION

Case study date: October 2006

Local authority in which project based: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Date started: 2004

Type of organisation: Statutory

Brief description, including aims and objectives:

Waltham Forest award winning Defending Da Hood (DDH) project was set up in 2004 to work with ‘hard to reach’ young people and address the issues which are relevant to them whilst raising awareness of employment, health, crime and community safety. The project’s core aim is to improve the life chances of young people and reduce gang-related crime. It uses a programme of community events and activities to create an environment where young people can tackle issues such as gang culture, gun crime, teenage pregnancy and community tensions. Regular youth forums and consultation events provide young people with a platform to discuss issues of concern and influence local service provision.

Collaboration:

Waltham Forest Council’s Community Safety team is the lead organisation. DDH has a partnership board made up of young people, the police, four registered social landlords, representatives from voluntary and community sector organisations and faith groups.

Funding:

DDH is funded by the Home Office, Government Office for London, the police and LB of Waltham Forest (£15,000 in 2006-07). Other sources of funding include Community Based Housing Association (£5,000), Team Leyton (£10,000), Ascham Homes (£5,000) and Waltham Forest Islamic Association (sponsors for consultation event with young Muslims - £6,000).

Staffing:

Local voluntary groups Breaking Thru and Active Change Foundation provide full time staff with specialist knowledge as match contributions. Approximately 60 volunteer staff (parents and young people) support the events programme.

NATURE OF PROVISION

Which groups of young people does the project work?

DDH undertakes targeted work with young people identified as ‘hard to reach’, initially members of six gangs involved in violence associated with major housing estates in the borough. The core group was predominately Black or mixed parentage young men not in education, training or employment. The project has also undertaken targeted work with young Muslims and is working to attract White and eastern European young people. On average, around three to four hundred young people attend consultation events, with a male:female ratio of 60:40. A consultation event for Muslim young people attracted 450 participants (mostly male and of Pakistani origin).

DDH also manages a database of 950 young people previously involved in or on the edge of gang culture who want to improve their lives.

How was the need for the project identified?

The borough has recently developed an unwelcome reputation for gang and gun related crime. Analysis of local crime data identified ‘hard to reach’ Black youth as being over-represented as both victims and perpetrators, in addition to being disadvantaged by local socio-economic factors.

Young people involved in gang culture are less likely to achieve at school or move into further and higher education, and more likely to become teenage parents or to be unemployed. It was against this backdrop that the borough’s crime and disorder partnership, SafetyNet, established Defending Da Hood – street slang for defending the neighbourhood.

How do young people become involved? What, if any, commitment do you ask for?

Involvement is on a voluntary basis. DDH’s database was developed through running competitions with prizes to encourage young people to provide their details. Through this it can contact over 900 young people using text messaging and e-mail. It uses local advertising, housing associations newsletters and word of mouth to attract young people to ticket-only consultation events which combine music, food and entertainment with serious discussion.

DDH’s partnership radio station Streetlife FM run by young people provides a mechanism to encourage young people to become more actively involved in the project. Recruitment to the station is predominantly achieved by the CBHA outreach teams who access young people not in education, employment or training.

What are the main approaches used and activities offered?

DDH’s approach is based on promoting community safety (as opposed to crime reduction), helping young people to feel safer in their neighbourhood. It holds quarterly consultation events to build relationships with young people, create the conditions for young people to give voice to the issues that concern them, and influence services. Events are attended by up to 450 young people and partners including police, housing associations and mosques. They have explored various issues identified through the youth committee including community safety; unwanted teenage pregnancy; summer activities; and tackling community tensions following the London bombings of July 7^th.

The project’s key principles include:

systematic analysis to identify young people considered ‘hard to reach’, taking account of historical conflicts based on territorial claims and ethnicity and race.
A partnership approach to draw on skills and knowledge across the borough, such as involving a community safety officer with good local knowledge and credibility in working with Black and Asian young people.
Willingness to acknowledge the reasons why some young people distrust authority, including why some might consider it appropriate to use violence to defend their ‘hood’. In turn the project is explicit about why it works with young people to prevent such acts.
Ensuring that young people attending consultation events understand the reasons for any policing.

Young people involved in Streetlife FM undertake an accredited training programme to prepare them for various roles ranging from technical and presenting to business, finance and human resources. Young people involved in DDH have also produced a DVD using music to raise issues about crime and support young people in bringing about change.

The project also supports Parents Against Violence, giving parents a network to explore solutions in tackling conflict between young people.

How are young people involved in shaping the project?

Young people are members of the working group which runs the project. They have helped develop the project, deciding on the project name, planning the consultation programme, and designing publicity materials. There are also youth forums which feed into this working group.

Four young people from the DDH partnership board are on the council’s violent crime delivery group. Their role is to advise senior managers on the likelihood of DDH strategies being effective, and to report back to the youth forums on the council’s policies to fight crime and ASB. Young people attended three residential training events to prepare them for their roles covering team building, conflict resolution, personal development and presentation skills.

How does the project respond to the needs of different young people, particularly the most marginalised?

DDH creates appropriate conditions for ‘hard to reach’ young people to raise issues that concern them. It ensures safety at consultation events by selecting venues where access can be controlled and organising coaches to transport young people to and from their respective estates. A local security company enforces its ‘no weapons’ groundrule.

OUTCOMES OF WORK

Does the project contribute to the five Every Child Matters outcomes for young people?

DDH’s work contributes to all five ECM outcomes, particularly staying safe, making a positive contribution, and economic well-being through raising educational attainment. It provides opportunities for young people who might not otherwise become involved to raise issues of concern and influence local service provision, which helps them take positive steps towards inclusion. DDH funded projects have led to the creation of paid jobs. Five young people who have completed NVQ level 1 in fitness training and progressed to level 2 have a high probability of employment with Greenwich Leisure once they complete the course. Young people have gone back into further education, and one has been supported to start her own business.

What skills and knowledge do young people gain through their involvement in the project?

Young people involved in the radio station gain a range of practical skills and develop their confidence and belief that they can achieve.

How are young people's progress and achievements measured and recorded?

Young people involved in running the radio station undertake OCN accredited training. Some 70 young people are expected to undertake training in 2007. Workers monitor progress and achievements as appropriate.

What has changed for other young people, organisations or the wider community as a result of the project?

The consultation programme has led to providers reshaping services, helping reduce the gap between provision and exclusion within the borough. Improvements to contraception services have been incorporated into the borough plan, and work to engage young Muslims has been hailed as particularly successful. The council, for instance, hosted sessions to encourage young Muslims to apply for local jobs following concerns they expressed about employment.

The music DVD can be used as an education tool for both young people and adults, while challenging negative stereotypes of street culture and music.

Other specific achievements include a 40 per cent reduction in violent crime since the time of the first event and a reduction in teenage conception rates.

MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS

How is the project evaluated?

Independent evaluation carried out at the end of year one.

What are the findings of any evaluations to date?

The evaluation found that high levels of trust between partners, noting that ‘Each of the partners involved “trusted” their fellow partner to achieve the desired goal of DDH.’

The project has won three national awards to date: the Inside Housing award for community safety, Race Action Net award for community engagement and diversity, and the Youth Justice Board award for youth engagement.

What changes/developments have occurred - or are planned - as a result of evaluation?

As a result of the evaluation each partner decided to focus on developing social capital, recognising the value of young people’s contributions. The housing associations have increased their youth provision. The council has developed performance indicators for the community to judge its provision.

What has worked well and why?

Trust between members of the partnership;
People prepared to think and work ‘outside the box’;
Every one working to achieve the best from young people;
All partners are prepared to argue on behalf of young people.

What has been difficult and why?

Performance indicators are quantitative not qualitative, so are not young people friendly.
Not all organisations have experience of working with young people and often distrust their commitment to participation.
Project costs - leading to questions about value for money.
Unrealistic expectations: the misconception that DDH can achieve miracles by bringing together young people on a given day.
Tokenism - some providers use consultations to meet their own targets for involving young people in decision making, rather than as a genuine opportunity to create change.

PARTNERSHIP AND STRATEGIC IMPACT

What does the project bring to partnership work?

DDH aims to create high level policy change through providing access to disaffected young people.

Has this partnership resulted in greater collaboration or increased understanding between partners?

Independent evaluators have praised DDH for developing trust between partners to achieve a common goal. It has become an important mechanism for two-way communication, and those leading on policing and community safety engage with DDH to seek the views of young people.

Have you experienced any particular difficulties in partnership working?

Partnership work is hard as partners have different and competing priorities. DDH had difficulties in getting organisations to understand that the specialist ability does not conflict but complements organisational goals. DDH’s rule is that partners leave their egos at the door.

Do you consider this project to be innovative?

It uses young people’s street culture and experiences to translate and inform other young people about corporate policy and how they can influence the bigger picture.

No other mechanism has been able to achieve this.

How do you disseminate the learning from the project?

Through the local and national media, young people showcasing their achievements. DDH’s motto is ‘each one teach one’, i.e. peer learning in unstructured areas such as the street or playground.

Has the learning from this work influenced wider organisational/service strategies?

DDH is aligning its engagement and consultative programme with borough-wide strategies by embedding it into the authority’s children and young people’s plan.

What plans do you have to sustain/develop this work?

DDH aims to establish a solid, structured budget and funding base in order to build on its first year. Strategic outcomes for 2005-2008 include:

A 20 per cent reduction in overall crime by 2008.
An increase in the number of drug offenders in treatment.
An increase in voluntary and citizen participation.
90 per cent of young people enter training, employment or full time education.

CONTACT

Mike Jervis, DDH, Rowan House, 1 Cecil Road, Leytonstone, London E11
Tel: 020 8496 5082
E-mail: Michael.jervis@walthamforest.gov.uk