The Isle of Wight could become a ‘safe haven’ through proactive youth work, including sports and other activities.
Julian Wadsworth MBE spoke to Shanklin Town Council last week about the resilience role he and his team play in the Bay area, helping young people change their ways.
The team’s focus is early intervention and prevention, getting young people to show respect in the community; involved in positive activities and, where possible, back into education.
As a part of Community Action Isle of Wight, Mr Wadsworth is the youth intervention development officer and has been helping the Bay sort pockets of trouble in the last two years.
Shanklin Town Council has this year given £10,000 to fund Mr Wadsworth’s work along with contributions from Lake Parish Council and Sandown Town Council.
In the past six months, the team received funding from the MOJ to intensively work with young people who were at risk of being excluded from school; involved in anti-social behaviour; low-level criminal activity; or exploitation.
Mr Wadsworth said it was among the ten per cent of projects nationally to have had positive outcomes.
The scheme in the Bay had 15 youths complete the programme, and involved workers visiting them at home and in the community, setting up training and education around risks affecting young people.
The average age of those taking part was 13 and the common denominator, Mr Wadsworth found, was that they all had additional learning needs.
In the last two years, he said the local policing team reduced anti-social behaviour across the Bay but the problem he saw was if youths were coming through the system anxious, angry and with additional learning needs not being met, the chances are they will end up involved in risk-taking behaviours.
Mr Wadsworth said some escalating problems can be stopped through communication and collaboration but it was still complex and more could be done.
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