Latest VRU blogs mark UN International Youth Day

Today is the United Nations International Youth Day, a moment to celebrate the potential of young people and all they offer our communities, but also the challenges they face.

The Violence Reduction Unit works with a broad range of partners and community groups to embed a public health approach to tackling serious violence. We do this by addressing the wider root causes, working with local partners to deliver earlier engagement and intervention, through which we can help prevent serious violence.

We take a focus on young people, in particular with regard knife crime. We know that growing up with the barriers of deprivation and poverty, of childhood traumas, lack of opportunities, exclusion from education or employment and exposure to violence and abuse can all be risk factors in future violent offending.

Our priority is to develop sustainable responses, working closely with our nine local place-based partnerships to deliver programmes of activity to help support our young people. From education to diversion programmes, we can help young people reach their full potential.

Our latest blogs published today share the insights and experiences both of the youth services we rely on to help create safe environments for young people, but also an inspiring account from a 20-year-old student from Reading, Ayishia Jones.

Read both on our blog page.