Isolated Young People Awarded Funding Grant

A Newtownabbey project using sports and education to prevent young people turning to crime has been awarded a major grant from the Big Lottery Fund.

Monkstown Amateur Boxing Club is one of nine organisations across Northern Ireland that have been awarded grants totalling over £3,200,000 from the Big Lottery Fund’s Reaching Out: Empowering Young People programme, which supports young people most at risk in Northern Ireland, including those who have been disengaged from education, involved in crime or in care.

The club has been awarded £377,690 to work with young people in the local area who are not involved in education, employment or training (NEET) and are at risk of getting involved in anti-social behaviour and crime.

The project will give young people the chance to be mentored and coached in sports such as boxing, and it is hoped that this will then encourage them to get involved in courses and activities that will improve their education, boost their self esteem and self worth and improve their job opportunities.

"This is an area with high levels of disadvantage where educational attainment is low and many young people drop out of school, while young people here can also fall into the trap of anti-social behaviour," said Chairperson Billy Snoddy.

"Sport, and boxing in particular, is a great way of harnessing the energy and passion of young people, teaching them about self worth, respect, hard work and dedication. It’s a great way of impacting on young people, building their confidence and trust, and showing them that they can make a positive difference to their lives and communities. "

Colin Jackson, 27, first came to the boxing club at the age of 13.

"I was hanging about with the wrong crowd at the time and to be honest it could have gone either way. I was drinking and getting involved in ant-social behaviour. When it came to school it was lucky if I went there twice a week," he said. "Then I came along to the club in Monkstown and they helped me realise that I was capable of bigger things. I’m now about to finish a degree in structural engineering at Queens. I’m really proud with what I’ve achieved and it’s down to the support of the boxing club."

The Nexus Institute has also been awarded £221,076 to help support vulnerable and isolated young people in the Western and Southern Health and Social Service Trust areas.

The project will work to increase the self esteem and self worth of young people in or leaving care as well as teaching them about the dangers of sexual exploitation and where to get help if they need it, and it will also run education and personal development programmes to teach parenting skills to teenage parents.

Frank Hewitt, Big Lottery Fund NI Chair, said: "We are already seeing the really positive impact that the Empowering Young People programme is having on the lives of our most vulnerable young people during this harsh period of recession in Northern Ireland."

To find out more about the Reaching Out programmes visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

(GK)