YOUNG people in Stanley are giving badnbehaviour the red card with a new Friday-night youth project.
Stanley Kicks, run by the Foundation ofnLight, launches this Friday night with two weekly sessions for different agengroups, in a bid to offer young people a positive way to spend their free time.
Footballing hero Kevin Ball visited thenproject, at North Durham Academy, to show support and meet some of the school’snsporting and academic stars
He said: “Having somewhere to go on annight for me was brilliant: I can still picture the youth club up the roadnwhere I used to live and they would give us a variety of activities to do. ThenKicks programme is going to be so important to the young people of Stanleynbecause it’ll give them an opportunity. It’s up to them to embrace it and wenhope they’ll come off the streets, come and meet us, come and say hello. PersonallynI think it’s a fantastic programme for the young people of Stanley and thensurrounding areas.”
In 2019, youth-related incidents acrossnStanley fell by 11 per cent – an improvement that Durham police attribute tontougher enforcement action and better diversion schemes.
Sergeant Gary Smith,nfrom Stanley Police, said: “Over the last 12 months, we’ve taken tough actionnagainst individuals when it needed to be taken.
“But we’ve also seennwhat a difference it makes when positive alternatives are provided for thesenkids and how well they have responded to that.
“The Kicks programmenis brilliant. It gives young people something positive to do and prevents themnfrom coming into conflict with residents and the police, which is better forneveryone in the area.
“Hopefully it willnbe a huge success and will help with our aim of making Stanley a better andnsafer place for everyone.”
The project will be free to attend and paid for by a ground-breaking fund that focuses specifically on the Stanley area.
ThenStanley Community Fund was put together by County Durham Community Foundation,nStanley Town Council, Durham Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner, StanleynArea Action Partnership and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media andnSport and has already given out almost £60,000 in grants to 16 local groups.nGrants from the fund can be larger amounts and for longer time spans, to makensure projects can really make an impact.
Michelle Cooper, chief executive fornCounty Durham Community Foundation, said: “We’re really delighted to seenStanley Kicks become a reality in bringing better health and well-being tonyoung people in our community. The Stanley Community Fund is giving us thenprogress we so urgently need to see – putting money to good use by giving it tonlocal people who understand what makes a difference.
“The project is funded for two years andnthat’s two years when young people in Stanley have something constructive to donon Friday nights. We all know what it’s like to be bored and have nonopportunity – it causes trouble – so we’re keen to offer these young peoplensomething of value that can shape their lives for the better.”
Additional information
Stanley Kicks is a project that has received funding for 2 years as part of the Stanley Community Fund project. It starts on 31st January with 2 separate sessions planned each week:
- Session 1 for 8 – 12yrs old at North Durham Academy every Friday from 16:30 to 18:00
- Session 2 for over 13yrs+ at North Durham Academy every Friday from 18:30 to 20:00
Kicksnis a FREE programme for young people to engage in positive, constructivenactivities. More information on Kicks programme can be found here – https://www.premierleague.com/communities/programmes/community-programmes/pl-kicks
