Harvey Willgoose: Parents of Sheffield teenage stabbing victim dream of creating 'Harvey's Hub' youth club
The family of a Sheffield teenager who was stabbed to death at school hope to set up a youth club in his memory.
Harvey Willgoose, aged 15, was killed in a major incident at All Saints Catholic High School on February 3. Earlier this week, a 15-year-old boy admitted manslaughter, but pleaded not guilty to murder, and will now stand trial in June.
Now, Harvey’s parents, Caroline and Mark, have told the BBC they want to “get the kids back out, socialising, meeting up like we used to” in their mission to drive down knife crime.
They are funding factfinding sessions to find out what activities young people are after and use it to set up a permanent youth hub in Sheffield.
Caroline told the BBC: "Kids are our future; we've got to do it for them.
"A lot of them have anxiety, and I think that is to do with COVID – a big chunk of their childhood has been taken away through that."
They plan to name the permanent club ‘Harvey's Hub’.
Mrs Willgoose said: "I want the awareness out there - I will go into schools and festivals to talk.
"I'll talk to kids about knife crime and the devastation it brought to us, to his friends, to the community, to the school, and to the kids that were there."
They hope to base ‘Harvey’s Hub’ at the Miners' Welfare Club in Beighton, which they described as Harvey's "happy place” and was where they held a private reception following his funeral in February.
Over a thousand people turned out for the service at Sheffield Cathedral, which was also broadcast outside on a big screen. The 15-year-old was described as “cheeky,” “loveable,” and someone who could “light up a room.”