Leaders in Community

Leaders in Community

At a glance

Causes

  • Young people

Other details

Organisation type: 
Charity
Geographical remit: 
Regional

Objectives

Leaders in Community is a youth-led charity run by a group of active local young people from Tower Hamlets. We were set up in 2009 by a group of young adults who wanted to improve their local services. We have a variety of creative learning programmes aimed to empower young people in leadership and governance. The programmes run throughout the year and are free for all young people.

Our Vision : We inspire and empower local young people to be active and vocal contributors to the social, economic and cultural well-being of their community.

Our Mission: Through our Youth Leadership and Youth Social Action initiatives, we will provide local young people with training to develop their personal resilience and overcome barriers to progression and equip local young people with the skills and opportunities to speak out about community issues, and challenge inequalities
 

Activities

There are many life-changing decisions needed to be made from a young age and some of us unfortunately do not have supportive people around. Some of the young boys and girls are even bullied due to their race, gender or sexuality; and with the increase in drugs and gang influence our help is even more vital to these communities.

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.

From our experience we have come across so many bright individuals from Tower Hamlets who are keen to go on to higher education, build themselves a career and improve their quality of life — but what seems apparent from a simple conversation is their lack of self-belief and their desire for an opportunity to flourish.

As part of Leaders in Community’s (LiC) work to increase skills and opportunities for young people, we have set up the following Youth Social Action programmes that young people can take part in:

Mind The Gap:

Mind the Gap launches a crowdfunding campaign to help overcome the on-going loneliness and isolation older people face due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Most of us have started thinking of a return to normality. Some have gone back to offices, and others visiting families by parks or in our gardens. For many elderly people, going back to pre-lockdown is likely to result in further isolation and loneliness. The pandemic reminds us to think of others, especially the vulnerable. Our young people found they could contribute to something productive and rewarding during this difficult time, such as food deliveries or medicine drops. As things normalise, there will be less of us who can take up the voluntary work that we had previously been free to do. Now it is even more important to look out for older friends, neighbours and relatives and be vigilant of their well-being to make sure they’re okay.

The UN recently published a new policy which highlights the need to address the impact of COVID-19 on older people during the recovery phase. Older members of the society are at higher risk of suffering from social isolation, only to be heightened by COVID-19. Many live alone, without access to the internet. They will need more support than ever before.

Our inter-generational project, Mind the Gap (MTG), is all about bringing the young and old of our local community together to enrich each other’s lives. This became significantly difficult during the lockdown, with one of the biggest barriers has been to enable older members of our group to get online.

We ask ourselves what the new norm will look like for these valued members of the community, and how our young leaders can make a lasting impression on their lives.  

We want to help address the impact that coronavirus is having on our elderly. Using the money raised, the MTG team seeks to purchase digital tablets so that our associates can connect with loved ones and other members of Mind the Gap. Who better to do this than young people; with their tech-savvy knowledge, they are certainly at a good place to help others facing barriers. 

That is why our young people-led social action group Mind the Gap started their crowdfunding campaign this week, keen to get the older members of our community online by acquiring digital tablets. It doesn’t stop there because we will also have personal 1-to-1 support to get them started and then hold weekly video calls connecting our younger with older residents to maintain existing social links. 

By providing access to the internet, practical training and a supportive network, we hope to bring some much-needed connectivity for our community. It’s not just to participate in our sessions, but opening doors to other opportunities in engaging with the rest of the world. In a future that is likely to become more dependent on virtual conversations, we must not leave the older generation behind. 

Be.Heard: Be.Heard is our series of events that gather young people together with local decision makers. They get the opportunity to discuss issues that are important to them and voice their concerns and ideas for their local community. We aim to host 2 events per year locally with young people’s involvement.

Be.Inspired: Women-

Be.Inspired is our empowerment project for young women to speak about issues that they are facing in a safe and non-judgemental space.

Be.Inspired also invites in inspirational women and groups to give talks and workshops on an array of topics ranging from mental health, race, religion and work aspirations.

We give them the opportunity to explore the world of work and the excitement of running their own projects, and volunteering at our events and festivals throughout the year.

In addition to all our projects, all the young people who take part in any of the above also have the opportunity to complete an Arts Award and a Personal Achievement Award level one. This has proven to help with impressing employers and university/college applications.

Be.Leaders-LiC has partnered with various corporate banks to deliver a programme that aims to equip young people with a range of leadership skills and knowledge to assist them in future careers, as well as being a great addition to your CV/UCAS application. Within the programme you have the opportunity to learn how to use MS Office more efficiently as well as skills such as networking skills, interview skills, building confidence among much more. 

 

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