Sheffield Wednesday Community Programme tackling youth violence in the city by giving youngsters a voice

The Owls’ community programme delivers football sessions in the community and is now running workshops for young people to gather research on youth crime in order to make communities safer and fairer places.

The workshops form part of a project run by the Peer Action Collective - a network of young people, who are designing and conducting research about young people’s experiences of violence. They’ll then be supported to turn what they’ve learned into action.

It is funded by The Youth Endowment Fund, The I Will Fund and Co-op.

Jacob Walkland, Coordinator of the Peer Action Collective at the Sheffield Wednesday Community Programme, said: “They’ve asked us as a community programme to see what we can find out around youth violence in Sheffield, and it’s just a really good opportunity offering us the chance to find out what it is and what the main issues and concerns are.”

The workshops, aimed at giving young people in the city a voice, ask young people what they think the main causes and effects of violence are.

They also have an educational role and highlight the devastating effects of violence, including knife crime.

Jacob added: “We do all work in schools anyway giving the odd PE session and after school clubs, so even just seeing us in the public eye we will have parents coming up to us and asking 'are you able to come to our school?’

“It’s being able to raise awareness and being able to give young people a voice to sort of say this is what the young people want.”

On the aim of the project, Kieran Weatherstone, a peer researcher, said: “It’s not about changing the world, we know we can’t affect everything, but if we can affect one person, or go into a school and affect that area, it can only have a positive impact on the community.”

From leading sessions in schools with young people, Kieran says himself and the peer researchers are able to build a connection with young people.

“We have had experience leading sessions in schools already so we feel like we can connect to young people and have that relationship with them where they’re able to talk to us and tell us what’s happening in their community,” he said.

Another peer researcher, Kevin Edegbe, added: “We are just trying to get the word out there as much as possible to reach as many people as we can.”

From spending time with young people around the city, raising awareness and hearing their thoughts and concerns, the community programme will then take these thoughts and concerns to the local authorities and police to let them know what young people think needs to change.

The Sheffield Wednesday Community Programme is the football club’s charitable arm, established to support the development of cohesive communities around South Yorkshire.

It encourages confidence, active lifestyle and participation of sport regardless of gender, ethnicity and disability.