Young people benefit from police funded EITC programme

A youth engagement project in Liverpool, recently awarded £5,000 from Merseyside Police, has engaged with 40 young people over two weeks.

Everton in the Community (EitC) were one of 11 organisations to win a share of £31,000 at the ‘Giving Back to Garston’ participatory budget event in February. The funding pot was made available using money seized from criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Organisations had to present their youth engagement projects to an audience of schoolchildren from The Academy of St Nicholas, St Austin’s, Garston CE, Banks Road, Gilmour Juniors and Holy Trinity primary schools, with the children themselves deciding the winning bids.

EitC used the funding boost to host a two-week programme of activities, trips, and tournaments for children aged 11 to 16 during Easter half term, to build relationships and break down barriers.

There was something for everyone to enjoy, including bowling, indoor skiing, Zip World, Ninja Warrior and go karting. The group of young people even got to attend Everton’s Premier League fixture against Burnley, go on a stadium tour and take part in their own football tournament.

Officers from Merseyside Police went along to the sessions and heard positive feedback from those involved including “I really enjoyed the tournament, I'd love to do more stuff like this in the future” and “Had a boss day! Got to try new things that I would never have done before.”

Jen Harden, Youth Inclusion Manager at EitC said: “We were thrilled to win the funding, and it’s been heart-warming to see so many of the young people with a smile on their face this Easter half-term thanks to the initiative.

“They’ve all truly benefited from the funding and had the opportunity to enjoy a variety of different activities to keep them engaged and steer them away from negative influences."

Local Policing Inspector Nicola Hamilton added: “It’s great to see Everton in the Community use their recently awarded funding to host an engaging, action-packed week of activities for the area’s young people. The project idea received a strong seal of approval from the schoolchildren at the Giving Back to Garston event, so it’s brilliant to see it come to fruition and engage with young people.

“We know how important diversionary projects like this are in breaking down barriers, building positive relationships and giving young people out-of-school activities to take part in. We continue to work closely with partners and utilise all funding opportunities, including the Proceeds of Crime Act, to support our approach to preventing crime and creating safer communities.”