A specialist training provider is among Stoke-on-Trent organisations supporting vulnerable young people through a summer programme tackling issues including knife crime.
Black Onyx Academy, the training division of security company Black Onyx Concepts, was among the organisations at a teen anti knife crime event staged by Ulysses Youth and the Hubb Foundation at Kix FC in Hanley last week.
Black Onyx’s Stefan Northfield used the event to demonstrate the type of workshops delivered by the academy, which focus on developing skills including teamwork, discipline and resilience.
Youth leaders and anti-knife crime campaigners highlighted the pressures some young people face and risks associated with carrying a knife, with Stefan adding that those who carry a knife are statistically more likely to become victims of stabbing.
The summer holiday event for 11 to 18-year-olds also featured football activities, music from Ditch the Blade rapper HarvStar, who shared his experience of losing family members to knife crime, and was part of the Hubb Foundation’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme.
Jane Sawyers, Chair of the Hubb Foundation, a former Chief Constable at Staffordshire Police, said: “Staffordshire Police’s Ditch the Blade campaign is making great strides in getting the message out there that 99 per cent of young people do not carry blades, as well as siting knife amnesty bins and knife arches across the city.
“However, we can always do more especially over the summer holidays when young people may feel more vulnerable and parents more worried.
“Our HAF programme is about far more than fun holiday activities – we have a genuine responsibility to educate young people about issues that affect them. This Ulysses Youth event achieves that and gives young people a platform to speak out while enjoying positive activities.”
The event was also attended by Stoke-on-Trent Central MP Gareth Snell.
