Ecosystem Coldharbour (Brixton, London)

Social Value World supported the partnership management and funding application process of the 'Ecosystem Coldharbour' partnership which brings seven respected community organisations together, alongside the police and public services, to address the root causes of violence and provide meaningful opportunities for change.
 
The area of focus is the Coldharbour Ward of Brixton, London borough of Lambeth.
 
Coldharbour is one of London’s most violent wards, it has one of the highest rates of serious youth violence in London and features highly across other criminal offences, knife enabled crime, unemployment, poor mental and physical health.  
 
Youth violence in Coldharbour is driven by several factors including marginalisation, poverty, victimisation and gang culture. With the help of the Mayor of London's ‘My Ends’ funding, Ecosystem Coldharbour is working to reduce violence by: 

  • Supporting a local network of grieving mothers and families impacted by youth violence.  
  • Developing a network of grass roots community organisations, supporting them with training, grants and organisational mentoring. 
  • Recruiting and training passionate local people to outreach and support their peers
  • Providing one-to-one therapeutic sessions around wellbeing and mental health for young people   
  • Using youth work and meaningful opportunities as diversionary activities that give young people positive paths away from violence (ways out of crime).
  • Creating an innovative ‘young connector’ development model. This collective of local young people will train, learn and work together, becoming the next generation of trauma-informed change makers with the skills, lived experience and relationships that can impact upon the frequency of youth violence and its trauma on the wider community. 
 
Ecosystem Coldharbour want to widen the thinking of what it means to work with young people at risk or involved in youth violence, tackling the ‘Pair of ACE’s’; Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adverse Community Environments.