The other day I came across a group of young people from one of the most deprived boroughs in London. Their community has been devastated by crime — and they are determined to change it.
"Lyrical Expression" is their antiviolence brainchild, bringing together young people to write song lyrics and poems. Instead of picking up a gun or a knife, the group wants to promote picking up a pen.
This is an example of how young people can bring a fresh perspective to a problem, offering unique solutions — sometimes without even knowing they are doing it. In this community, they were the first to offer creative writing as a working solution to gun violence.
Young people are often the most innovative and creative. However, there are barriers facing them. At The Prince's Trust, we help those who have come from a range of difficult backgrounds — from care leavers to young offenders. Many have left school with no or few qualifications; some have never had a job.
The main barrier we come across is lack of self-esteem. When it comes to creativity, qualifications and work experience are not always necessary — but having confidence in yourself and your ideas is vital.
Young people who have never passed an exam or been given the opportunity to work tend to lack self-belief, but they still have a great deal to offer. The Prince's Trust helps young people overcome this lack of self-confidence through carefully structured programmes and mentoring. For example, the success rate of the trust's business programme — 58% of businesses are still trading in their third year — is not so much down to the grant or low-interest loan the young people receive, but to the support they get from their mentor.
The mentor can offer something that many business start-ups miss out on: encouragement. The young people have come up with the idea themselves, but without support this innovation could come to nothing. Nurture the idea and give the young person the confidence to grow and develop it, and then innovation really works.
Some young people have ideas that are not yet full business proposals — but their entrepreneurialism can still be developed in other ways. The Royal Bank of Scotland, a long-term supporter of the trust, funds a £1 million scheme enabling 14- to 25-year-olds to set up their own community projects. The Community Cash Awards fund a range of ideas from anti-knife crime workshops to dance classes for deprived communities.
Crucially, all the projects are devised and organised by the young people themselves, developing their creativity and skills for work. The awards help to overcome some of the key issues holding these young people back: the lack of funding, their own lack of confidence, and the lack of confidence the community has in them as young people.
All of this is about breaking down barriers of low self-esteem and recognising that, when it comes to creativity, self belief is as important as the idea itself.
Martina Milburn is chief executive of youth charity The Prince's Trust.
Weblink
Prince's Trust: princes-trust.org.uk
