WAYC’s Youth Access Project team are launching an exciting new project that will be tackling the troubling problem of knife crime in North Solihull. The project has received two years funding from the Home Office and will focus on finding ways to reach young people who are risk of becoming drawn into gang culture, anti-social behaviour, youth offending and the dangerous practice of carrying offensive weapons like knives and guns. The project team will deliver a series of workshops and exciting activities to young people between 11 and 18 years in North Solihull and try to understand the underlying reasons for the disturbing trend towards violent behaviour by listening to the points of view from project participants.

The project opens on 21st January and will hold discussion groups and workshops for up to 60 young people at Smiths Wood Sports College. The opening sessions will start with a viewing of the Magnetic Films DVD ‘Tooled up for School’ which highlights the issues around young people carrying knives.

This will be followed by workshops during which the young people will be encouraged to discuss their responses to the film, receive informal education about the ‘Stop and Search’ policy, the current laws regarding carrying offensive weapons and the likely penalties when caught. The workshops and discussion groups have the potential to bring up a lot of questions that society finds really difficult: Why do so many young people carry knives? Are young people so fearful that they feel the need to carry a weapon for self defence? and so on.

The project will run until March 2012 and create many opportunities for young people to engage in positive activities rather than live lives that spiral downwards into trouble with the law. We are keen that all young people taking part have an opportunity to influence the development of the project, it is vital that they feel a sense of ownership and the Youth Access Project workers will be open to their ideas of what defines a ‘positive activity’.