Meet Steve Barnabis, a local youth worker with a Community Interest Company @ProjectZeroWF tackling the complex issues around vulnerable youths and knife crime in London.
Portrait of Steve Barnabis by @gabrielpitcher, Walthamstow, London 2020.
(Click on image for drone footage of portrait)
PROJECT ZERO WF cic
After 13 years property developers moved in to turn our well loved and used youth space into luxury apartments. This seems to be a consent challenge for community projects based in prime locations in London.
Project Zero was established to tackle the complex issues of knife crime and youth violence facing some of our most disadvantage young people on a daily basis.
Young people losing their lives remains to be on the increase and a public health crisis. Government policies and police intervention are crucial in tackling these issues, but we can all play apart in supporting our young people.
Community support, intervention and a holistic approach in engaging young people is also what's needed.
Providing a safe place for young people to hang with their friends, engage in positive activities, benefit from the input and guidance of mentors and trained youth workers is needed now more than ever.
This year Covid-19 has seen young people's lives being turned upside down by this pandemic. Bereavement, Food Poverty, Education / Learning impacted, Poor mental health, domestic violence, self-esteem and confidence all severely being impacted.
Since the closing of our Youth Centre in February 2018 we have been on the hunt for a new venue. Working with Waltham Forest we now believe that we are close to opening a new youth hub by the end of 2020.
We are therefore launching this very ambitious £150,000 campaign to secure the 1st year of activities and services to support our community, which like so many others have been exacerbated by Covid, further straining these critical issues.
This funding will help us employ vital youth workers and develop the initial key services that will be vital for our young people.
I am aware that durning these unusual and difficult times everybody has been effected in one way or another by Covid. So your donation and support would be most appreciated and valued.
Our aim is to provide a therapeutic safe youth hub to support and guide our young people through these difficult times.
Thank You for taking the time to check us out.
Steve
Stephen Barnabis
Project Zero WF cic
Director