Poplar’s Leaders in Community receive new grant to continue work with young people affected by violence
Poplar charity Leaders in Community has received funding from the Mayor of London to continue work with young people affected by violence.
Poplar charity Leaders in Community have received new funding just announced by the Mayor of London from the Violent Reduction Unit (VRU) to continue work with young people affected by violence.
Leaders in Community is based at the Teviot Centre in Poplar. From here they run programmes for young people in Poplar and Bow as well as the wider community across Tower Hamlets.
The funding is for the Mayor of London’s Stronger Future program. It is a VRU program that aims to reduce youth violence by providing opportunities and activities for young people, especially after school and during the weekend.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced the funding on September 15th saying: ‘I’m determined to see young Londoners develop and thrive both in and out of school.’
Leaders in Community have recently received the first installment and funding will be provided over two years. It is the third year Leaders in Community have been successful in applying for and receiving funding from the VRU.
Leaders in Community aim to inspire and empower local young people in order to become active and vocal contributors to our community. The CEO is Syed Uddin, who was one of the founders of the charity in 2009.
More than 400 young people pass through Leaders in Community’s programs per year, and thousands more people in the wider community are impacted by their work.
With the new funding from the VRU, Leaders in Community aim to set up a safe space for young women affected by youth violence. ‘This grant aligned perfectly with our vision and mission’ says Syed Uddin.
The idea came from the young women Leaders in Community work with. Who according to Syed are affected by violence but are often overlooked in the conversation about it.
Leaders in Community also intend to start a drop-in centre for young men. A third use of the funding will be to have alumni who have passed through their programs in previous years run peer-to-peer support for younger people aged 8-14 during school holidays.
Since they took over the Teviot Centre in January 2020 they run a series of programs at the centre for young people and the wider community. In the past week, they also have opened a new community cafe at the centre.
Syed added: “This funding allows Leaders in Community to deliver on our core values and to fully give the level of support our young people require. It helps us build the organisation and support the young people that manage it in a way that helps us become more sustainable as a charity. We will be able to utilise youth-led initiatives to reduce violence.”
