We run the Tenants & Residents association for the Ringcross Estate in N7. We also run a C.I.C company called US nt Limited. Our community has experienced many deaths of young people due to needless violence and this has had a devestating impact on everyone, the fear has brought hopelessness & despair to the youth & has caused people to disengage & cut themselves off from each other. Drug dealing has been rife & large groups of youth have been loitering around the estate causing more fear & anxiety for the more vulnerable in our community. In the past we have successfully put on Free events including parties, barbacues & Festivals for the whole community, our aim is to unite and build better relationships between people and bring people together, despite their differences. Rather than trying to disperse the problem & send it elsewhere, we have taken considerable time out to engage & get to know the youth individually & collectively & have come to fully understand the diversity & depth of the problems.
Poverty, Broken homes, absent fathers, no direction or guidance, emotional & physical abuse, dysfunctional family life, parent addictions, feelings of worthlessness & hopelessness in children manifest into anger, disolusion & fearfulness, if these issues and feelings are left untreated & unresolved you get a young person full of negativity, distrust and pain & many have mental health issues brought on by a painful past. Many will turn to crime & will be caught up in the prison system. This common ground between them brings them together & some would label them as a gang.
We have many innovative ways & ideas to help change negative mindsets & to create a more positive, productive environment, to empower & enable them to believe in themselves & to find their hidden abilities & talents and to give them a sense of purpose & belonging.