We all know that Friday evening is the time when youth troubles can really escalate. This has especially been observed by KTCO youth leaders for some time now in our local area.  

The Talacre football project aims to offer a safe and enjoyable alternative to local youth through 2 hours of supervised fun filled competitive sports.

Our experience has shown that a simple project such as this can have a significant impact on reducing youth crime.

These sessions are aimed at encouraging young people to take part in positive activities and draw them away from drugs, petty crime and gang culture which has now unfortunately become prevalent in our community.

The supervised weekly drop-in sessions are held in the Fleet Community Centre. Participants can interact with other local youth and our senior volunteers, taking part in activities like pool, table tennis and PS3 in a social, harmonious environment.

We have found that sessions like these allow us to talk to youngsters and build a sense of trust with them. In turn, they feel comfortable in discussing their personal difficulties with our senior youth volunteers, who can then offer real practical advice

drawn from their own training and experience.To date our youth volunteers have helped attendees with critical issues such as bullying, racism, the inability to 'fit in' and helping to resolve disputes between groups of youngsters before they escalate. This is only possible due to the atmosphere we have managed to create in these sessions.

This is a pioneering initiative launched in March 2006 in collaboration with local voluntary and public organisations in Camden.

It involves regular entertaining events featuring performances from rappers, speeches from ex-gangsters from established gangs, music from local bands and sketches from comedians. The performances aimed primarily at attracting local youth are followed by debates involving youth and adults on topical issues such as youth and education, drugs use and drug dealing, gangs in the UK & USA: the real life of gangsters, impact of R&B and Hip-Hop on youth culture, Britishness and

identity amongst youth, religion and terrorism.

The format of the Cafe Hip Hop was designed using KTCO's local knowledge and experience of working with young people. Listen to Cafe Hip-hop on BBC Radio >

Engaging young people in debate about improving their life chances, particularly in relation to employment and education can be challenging, but the innovative format of the Café Hip Hop has proved very successful in this regard. There has been a high level of take up, with between 70 and 100 young people attending the nine sessions held since the launch of the project.

Cafe Hip Hop has enable a unique forum for real interaction between white and BME youth (some from different opposed gangs) in the area. We have had parents coming in with their children from many different ethnicities and encouraging their children attend and listen to the speakers and debates.

KTCO directors and youth workers review each event, and have so far had a hugely positive response from the young people who attended.

We are proud to say that as direct result of KTCO work key young members (under 16) of Somali gangs in Camden have left the gangs and are in the process of rehabilitating themselves through guidance from our youth leaders.

One such member of the largest Somali gang in Camden (Over 18) has left the gang and has been sponsored by KTCO for full time higher education.

Cafe Hip Hop project was used as an example of best practice by the Home Office in the government's 2006 White Paper entitled 'Strong and Prosperous Communities'. Click here to see the document.

Next Steps

It is hoped that the Cafe Hip-Hop initiative will continue and KTCO staff and volunteers are currently considering other innovative ways to engage local youth to keep the project vibrant and exciting.

Unfortunately due to small numbers of qualified volunteers and funding constraints we have had to limit the number of such events. However with help and support from our community we hope to continue with this absolutely crucial project in the future. Support us >

At KTCO we realise that to be able to offer real positive advice and direction to local youth, our youth advisors also need to be equipped with key knowledge and skills.

As such KTCO youth leaders have regular strategy and training sessions to improve their skills in a formal setting.

These sessions headed by directors or other professional volunteers from the local also allow the senior youth leaders to plan activities and projects that really make a difference in the community.