Social Value World works with the Ecosystem Coldharbour partnership, bringing together five local organisations, community members and public services to deliver coordinated support for young people and families affected by violence in Brixton.

With our help, the initiative secured £1.9m over five years from the Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit.

Coldharbour Ward in Brixton is one of the most deprived areas in the London Borough of Lambeth and has experienced some of the highest levels of serious youth violence in the borough. Young people growing up in the area face a range of pressures including poverty, exclusion, limited opportunity and exposure to violence. Communities affected by these challenges often lack the sustained resources and coordinated support needed to respond effectively.

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; with training, grants and mentoring. 
* Recruiting and training passionate local people to outreach into communities and support their peers.
* Sports, creative and diversionary activities, keeping young people engaged positive opportunities for growth.
* One-to-one keywork, and therapeutic sessions; supporting mental health and wellbeing for young people.  
* Employment readiness work, creating positive pathways away from violence (ways out of crime).
* Innovative ‘TICCs’ (trauma informed community connectors) young person development model. This collective of local young people will train, learn and work together, becoming the next generation of trauma-informed change makers.
* Critical incident response; mobilising and supporting the community, local services, statutory services and the police around critical incidents of place-based violence.