Why we do it

Posted by admin at 4pm

It’s hard enough being a young person, having to decide who you are and what you want to do with your life. Not everyone is lucky enough to have supportive parents or teachers who believe in them or to live in an area bursting with opportunities. Add in the extra challenge of being bullied because of your race, gender, sexuality, family background, or just for the way you look, plus exposure to drugs, guns, gangs, discrimination and crime, and things aren’t looking good, are they?

This is where Leaders in Community step in; to engage, motivate, inspire and support young people in Tower Hamlets to increase their skills and confidence through creative and practical activities that benefit themselves and their community.

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is one of London’s most deprived boroughs, where 70% of the population are from Black and Ethnic minority communities and unemployment is at its highest in England. Community cohesion and race relations are often poor, drug use and anti-social behaviour persist and crime levels are more than double the national average.

Due to a continued cycle of poverty and lack of confidence and motivation in youths to explore their own potential, young people in Tower Hamlets are at risk of engaging in unproductive, anti social activities such as petty crime, drug abuse. They also face high levels of unemployment due to a lack of education and training based opportunities.

But don’t believe everything you read in the newspapers. In our experience, young people in Tower Hamlets are a far cry from the troublesome youths you hear about on a daily basis. They do want to work, train or study. They just need the opportunity to do so.

LiC reach to as many young people in and beyond Tower Hamlets as possible, giving them the opportunity to participate in various youth orientated and youth led activities, and inspiring them to seek further volunteering opportunities, training or employment. Giving young people a positive learning experience will not only have a positive impact on them as individuals but will benefit their families, peers and communities, and reduce the risk of them engaging in unproductive, anti social activities.

We believe that:

• Young people should be included in the development and management of the local area and involved in any decision making processes.
• Young people should have ownership over local resources,  have access to these and a say in how they are used.
• Young people should be recognised and acknowledged as important, active and valued members of their community

Read on to see who we are and who we work with

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