StreetChance Supported by Barclays Spaces for Sports

More about StreetChance Supported by Barclays Spaces for Sports

Taking cricket into inner-city communities where young people have little access to sports and where youth crime and anti-social behavior (ASB) are prevalent, StreetChance uses sport as a diversionary activity. Young people in these areas are susceptible to boredom, which research has shown can lead to crime and ASB. StreetChance community sessions are delivered on weekday evenings after school, targeting hours when incidents of youth crime and ASB tend to peak, with the intention of diverting the energy of young people and into positive activity.

Advised by local police, community organisations and crucially, feedback from young people themselves around issues that affect them and the community where they live, StreetChance identifies social issues in the areas where projects operate – for instance knife crime, drugs abuse, obesity - and develop a programme of educational workshops around them. These are designed to educate participants on the consequences of actions relating to certain behaviours, providing them with the knowledge to make informed choices should they become exposed to negative influences that exist in their local community. An example of this is a workshop we delivered with Greater Manchester Police on gang crime, historically a problem in the city.

The workshop focused on the consequences of getting involved in a gang and equipped participants with the skills and information to deal with dangerous and challenging situations, as well as generating alternatives to gang involvement.