‘On the field’: case study of sports interventions for young people at risk

• In Event: Breaking the Cycle: Youth Violence Prevention, Trauma-Informed Practice and Multi-Agency Strategies

Abstract

Addressing youth violence is a public health priority given its prevalence, harms and costs to society. Services designed to prevent or reduce youth violence do exist. Indeed, there is strong evidence to suggest that youth diversion is a more efficient method to address violent behaviour amongst young people than the standard criminal justice responses. However, the effectiveness of diversion and interventions often depends on young people engaging with them and it is important for funders and providers to know how best to support this process.

This paper aims to identify key messages and lessons learned from intervention projects attempting to engage young people at risk of violence/knife carrying in the Humberside region of the UK. Our strength-based methods investigation consisted of two strands of data collection.

Firstly, a pro-forma survey was sent to all leaders of funded intervention projects that were asked with engaging and intervening in the lives these young people. What was returned gave us insight into the aims and hopes of the intervention leads for the young people and the impact on the wider community affected by violent crime. The second stage is an in-depth case study of one such intervention. This deep dive exploration tells the story of not only the hopes, ambitions, and successes of those working with young people in this way, but also narrates the challenges and obstacles that they strive to overcome. Ultimately, we hope to identify key messages and understanding about how services can meaningfully engage with young people at risk of involvement in violence in a positive and impactful way.

Authors

• Sophie Louise Blanchard, University of Hull

• Simon Green, University of Hull