Oak London

Nay, Heather, Dylan, Ben, Becca, Jonny and Jos are running the Hackney Half marathon to raise money for Oak London!

Oak London helped me come out of my shell. Hearing how others viewed me was overwhelming but also gave me some confidence that allowed to me go into my internship with a positive outlook.” 

Maz, age 24, Oak London participant 2023

Oak London is a retreat and mentoring programme for young men facing significant challenges.

The need Oak London is addressing

The number of young adults in London who are at risk of offending, reoffending, or who have very limited support from others is increasing. According to the Home Office, over a third of people arrested in London in 2021/22 were under 25. More recently, the early-release scheme has left probation services overwhelmed and unable to provide the support necessary for prison-leavers. Licence times have been cut in an attempt to manage work-load, resulting in reduced intervention to decrease re-offending. The latest reports state the average cost of a prison place in England and Wales is £51,000 a year.

1 in 50 Londoners are living in temporary accommodation and hostels (Trust for London, 2024). A third of these are under the age of 25 (Shelter's End of Homelessness Count). This number has increased in recent years due to a number of factors including the rising cost of housing, the shortage of affordable housing, and cuts to social security benefits. The majority of young adults in temporary accommodation are male. Young people who are homeless are more likely to experience mental health problems, substance misuse and criminal exploitation, and are less likely to be in education or employment. Housing benefits for people in temporary accommodation in London is placed at the higher cap of £17,000 a year. This does not take into account the further cost of universal credit.

Oak London participants are representative of those captured in the above statistics, and often feel they have very limited options. They have been subject to adverse life experiences, trauma and disadvantage. The reasons for this are many and varied. Factors such as neglect, physical abuse in the home, substance misuse, exposure or victim to violence are some examples. But an overarching factor is commonly deprivation and poverty. Poverty rates vary between English regions but are highest in London (29%). More still, black and minority ethnic households are over-represented in these statistics, being twice as likely to live in poverty as their white counterparts. 

Due to their diminished opportunities and limited support, the reality for our participants is that without intervention they will be ill equipped to escape the poverty trap of living in temporary accommodation and being reliant on benefits, and the step to move from cycles of crime will feel unattainable.

Our programme to address the need

The Oak London programme runs three times a year, and is made up of an initial five stages. Nevertheless, many of the participants continue to engage with and benefit from our ongoing workshops. There are opportunities to attend subsequent retreats as assistants and develop their own ability as mentors.

Stage 1 Enrolment

Getting to know the young adult, assessing their suitability for the programme, and completing safeguarding checks.

Stage 2 Residential

 4-5 days away in Bristol. Each day starts with a 7am run and involves workshops, activities and cooking meals together. The workshops are based around developing relationship with self, others and society and include: ‘how to have discussions and disagree well’; 'responsibility and vulnerability’, and 'our stories and future goals'.

Stage 3 Follow up

Ongoing weekly sessions. We eat dinner together and host workshops that develop upon the themes explored during the residential, helping participants to develop good routines and work to becoming financially independent. The topics are shaped and co-designed by participants and include 'goal-setting', 'relationships', 'money management', ‘drugs and alcohol’, ‘mental health’ and 'study, training and work opportunities'

Stage 4 Community Project

Participants plan, organise and deliver an event or volunteer as part of an existing community venture. This gives them an opportunity to  handle a budget and provides invaluable experience for participants’ to be seen in a new light as positive change makers, and to recognise their ability to be so.

• cooking and serving a 3-course-meal in a local café space for elderly residents.
• promoting and hosting a BBQ for refugees living in temporary accommodation, welcoming them and overcoming language barriers to engage through conversations, sports and games.
• Assisting at a homeless shelter: cooking, serving and tidying-up after the evening meal, interacting and playing games with the residents, and managing evening schedules such as showers and smoking.

Stage 5 Mentoring

Many participants continue to engage with the support of the Oak London family long beyond the programme. They also have the option of additional on-going 1-1 support from a trained volunteer mentor who is matched according to the participants personal goals – adding to the participants ever-expanding support network.

"Oak London is the real deal and the full package. The residential taught me how to open up, handle my emotions, resolve conflict and build new bonds. Oak London also gave me the opportunities to participate in valuable bonding and activities I haven’t been able to do in years. Words won’t express how much I value what Oak London are doing.”

Jai, age 23, Oak London participant 2024

The difference it makes

Since launching Oak London in 2022 we have worked with 35 participants. The young adults we work with are NEET and have low employment levels. The predominant ethic group is black (57%), followed by white (20%), multi-ethnic (14%) and Asian (6%). 49% of participants have a history of offending or have been involved with street and gang life, and 77% live in temporary accommodation or hostels.

• 20 young men attended retreats in the last year
• 99% attendance of workshops, activities, chapel and morning workouts on the residential
• 93% of the workshops were rated 4 or 5 out of 5 by participants for both relevance and enjoyment; 78% were rated 5 out of 5 for both
• 94% attend the follow up workshops
• 75% attend half of more of the follow up workshops
• 60% we are still in regular contact with 1 year on
• 20% engage weekly 1 year on
•  14 have attended 2 or more retreats

Jaden’s Story

Jaden heard about Oak London through the YMCA where he lives. He became homeless when the situation at home became unmanageable. What more, he could not safely remain in his neighbourhood due to growing up in the middle of constant gang activity. Described as a calm rock, he is a big guy, but one of the most peaceful figures we have had on Oak London. Jaden has been keen to get back into work, so we got him onto a painting and decorating course with Bounceback - a partner organisation. 

Tim is younger. He lost his parents when he was a baby and was brought up most of his life by his grandma, who he is no longer in contact with. He’s been living in supported accommodation the past few years but has an amazing support network from his church which has become his family. Tim was recently given a flat by the council. A great position to be in, but hugely overwhelming when it comes as a shell, with no furniture and walls which look like the inside of an orange peel. 

Jaden had just finished his painting and decorating course, completing it with flying colours (no pun intended), but was hesitant about next steps with work. We saw an opportunity and employed him to paint Tim’s flat. Jaden taught us everything he knew, patiently and skilfully showing us how to undercoat walls and gloss skirting boards. 

More than Tim’s flat being slowly transformed, Tim’s contentment in his situation was transformed - through the help of Jaden. And we hope that the experience shows Jaden the skill he has to offer in work.

“Oak London provides a safe space and a community for individuals desperately in need of it. The space acts as a solace away from the challenges that come with their reality. The Oak London community provides guidance, insight and shared lived experiences. A perspective that many of the young people might not have access to. The residential aspect also allows them to come away from their natural habitat and function without the restraints and pressures that so many of them have become accustomed to.”

probation worker