Help is at hand for Wandsworth youths looking for guidance and opportunities

Hundreds of disadvantaged young people across Wandsworth will get support in a programme designed to promote physical and mental well-being – thanks to £60,000 grant.

More than 400 youngsters residing in and around the borough, facing significant challenges such poverty, crime, exclusion and deprivation, will now benefit from sustained, reliable support, at the Carney’s Community charity, Petworth Street, Battersea.

The cash injection comes from the London Freemasons, which wants to support Carney’s Community’s activities, which help tackle mental and challenges youths face, whilst also improving their access to opportunities and support.

The programme will consist of boxing sessions, a youth chill-out space, free hot meals, workshops and mentors with lived experience of the challenges the young people are facing.

The boxing sessions act as the ‘hook’ that means young people engage with Carney’s, where other services have been unable to reach them. And it gives them the opportunity to improve their physical and mental health, learn emotional regulation and receive mentoring.

The youth club provides a safe space where young people can take part in constructive activities (chosen by the young people themselves), or simply relax in a family style environment away from their challenges.

Carney’s Community employ former participants of the programmes as coaches, mentors and key workers so that they can support young people to make positive life decisions, despite the challenges they face.

During the boxing sessions and youth activities the team is on hand for young people to talk to and seek advice – This informal environment is when young people are more likely to open up and access the support they need, they say. They also get free meals.

In parts of Battersea, 29 percent of children live in poverty (national average: 17 per cent). In Wandsworth, an estimated 2,800 children have recognised mental health disorders, with 70 percent of these children and young people not having had appropriate early interventions.

In addition, 34.5 percent of 19-year-olds in Wandsworth are without level 3 qualifications (25 per cent in London overall). Of the individuals Carney’s supported in the last twelve months, 64 percent were considered most at-risk because they had a previous conviction, were excluded from education, lived in care, were not in education, employment or training, or had additional learning needs.

The grant will fund an entire year of youth work provision, mentoring and activities based at Carney’s Community, having an impact on these young lives for years to come. The grant will support the young people’s mental and physical health, improve their skills, future opportunities and reduce their risk of offending.

Hannah Tulloch, chief executive of Carney’s Community, said: “We’re very grateful to London Freemasons for their generous grant, which will help hundreds of young people from deprived backgrounds from across Wandsworth to get the help and support they need to overcome their challenges and make a better future for themselves.”

Pictured top: Boxing sessions like these play a big part in the programme (Picture: MetGL Communications)