Partnership with The Southern Co-operative
Friday 9th September, 2016
We are pleased to announce that we have recently partnered with The Southern Cooperative (TSC) as one of their regional charities as part of their ‘Love Your Neighbourhood’ programme. TSC has kindly donated £40,000 from the 5p purchase of plastic bags to help our anti violence work with young people and we are delighted to have the opportunity to work with them in more depth.
Below is the article they will be putting out through their in house magazine to launch the partnership.
How serious is violence against young people?
Violence is a significant and increasing problem in the UK. Data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales indicates that over 2 million violent incidents took place among 16+ year olds in 2011/12 alone (Office for National Statistics - ONS, 2013). 0.5 million additional incidents were thought to have been experienced by 10-15 year olds (ONS, 2012).
What has been the hardest challenge for the charity?
The knock backs. Setting up a charity in such a taboo subject is a constant struggle to achieve support, both funding and, more importantly, from educational organisations and Government. People don’t want to address the topic. By turning a blind eye, we allow it to grow.
What’s been the best thing someone has said to you after taking part in a workshop?
Hearing young people tell us that they have noticed reductions in bullying and play ground violence is always so inspiring and invaluable. This motivates us with a new sense of hope.
How do schools organise training, and do you offer this to other organisations?
Just email us at [email protected] and we’ll get in touch. We can support other organisations in training, from delivery of a ‘stay safe’ programme, which we’re doing for The Southern Co-operative, and also delivery of emotive subjects such as violence to young people.
As an adult, what can I say to help a youngster stand against violence?
No matter who you are or whatever your background, we all, young and old, have the power of choice. Whether you think you do or not, whether you think your worthy or not, we are all in charge of our own destinies. If you are socialising with negative people, getting involved in violence and crime, going down a path you don’t truly want, then make your choice, get out and take control. Otherwise you run the risk of becoming a victim or an offender; the potential to ruin your life and others is high. Think before you act and think twice before you react.
How is our funding contributing to your aims?
A significant part of our plan is to source sustainable funding. It is crucial to get in front of young people annually to achieve generational change, so we need to be here long term. This hard task has been eased by this new partnership with The Southern Co-operative, and we’re enormously grateful. It frees us up to focus on the work in hand and progress sooner than planned - an exciting prospect.
What’s planned for the future?
We’re keen to develop our work with schools and widen our reach. We want to expand training to organisations and improve our standing as a specialist organisation in violence prevention.
How can an individual support the charity?
We welcome support in getting a foot in the door of schools across the south. You can donate via standagainstviolence.co.uk, fundraise with an activity, or join our National Day of Non Violence.
