Summer funding package for young Londoners announced

The Mayor of London has announced a £5 million funding package for positive activities and opportunities for young Londoners.

Sadiq Khan has announced the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) has invested £5 million to support all 32 London Boroughs to deliver prevention and early intervention programmes to reduce violence over the summer.

The funding includes £4.5m of investment through the London Crime Prevention Fund for councils across London to fund local violence reduction initiatives, such as mentoring and youth work services, sports activities and reducing reoffending programmes. It is believed the funding will support up to 15,000 young people and community members over the summer and into 2023.

The VRU is also making funding available through its Critical Incident Fund for local authorities to prevent a serious incident - this could include targeted youth work and mediation or community events that are designed to prevent incidents happening.
 
A further £1m will be invested in a new sports programme to provide activities for young Londoners in areas with traditionally low engagement rates and neighbourhoods affected by violence.

The Mayor has also announced support for the Local Village Network (LVN), an app designed for young people which provides them with live opportunities and activities to participate in in all 32 London boroughs. The app is free and users can search by location for activities to take part in.
 
Khan said: “Tackling violence this summer is my top priority and I’m determined to do everything I can to ensure we do not see a rise in incidents over the summer months. I will continue to be tough on crime by supporting the police in removing dangerous weapons, tackling drugs and gangs, as well as supporting communities through neighbourhood policing, and I’ll be tough on the complex causes of violence."

“My Violence Reduction Unit is investing in a range of measures this summer to support young Londoners with access to positive activities and opportunities in training, apprenticeships and employment. We’re also investing in support for local authorities to deliver diversionary programmes and providing funding for councils to deliver targeted work to help prevent serious incidents from happening."

“I encourage young people and families across our city to visit the Local Village Network website this summer and take advantage of the 2,500 live activities and opportunities available this summer.”
 
Rosemary Watt-Wyness, CEO of London Youth, said: “The summer and the school holidays can be a challenging time for young people who need and deserve somewhere to go, something to do, and someone to trust. We’re very grateful to the Violence Reduction Unit and the Mayor of London for enabling us to support our network of member youth organisations with an exciting summer sports events programme.

“Sport is a crucial building block towards improved mental health, confidence and personal and social skills, and investing in this kind of support means investing in young Londoners.”