Young people on a barge project funded by the YES
Thousands of young people across Merseyside will gain access to new opportunities and activities designed to keep them safe, thanks to an extra £200,000 investment in the Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES).
The additional funding, provided by the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership (MVRP), is being used to expand and boost the 27 existing YES projectsand fund 18 new initiatives, enabling grassroots organisations to deliver more sports, digital and creative projects, and mentoring and wellbeing programmes, all focused on preventing crime and helping young people to thrive.
The YES was launched by the Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Emily Spurrell, and the MVRP in 2024 to tackle the root causes of violence by creating more safe spaces and positive opportunities for young people in the heart of their communities.
This latest boost means even more young people will have access to the projects running across Merseyside including:
- Boxing and sports programmes to engage young people at risk of getting drawn into crime and anti-social behaviour, building their resilience.
- Creative and trauma-informed initiatives offering safe spaces and personal development opportunities.
- Mentoring and volunteering opportunities to build confidence, life skills and aspirations.
- Targeted outreach for vulnerable groups, including girls and neurodiverse young people.
Among the recipients of the new funding are TARGET Football CIC in Toxteth, which will use its £5,000 grant to deliver the ‘Goals for Girls’ programme, creating pathways for girls and young women aged 11–24 to get involved in football as players, volunteers and coaches, while providing wraparound advice and guidance. In Norris Green, Kinship Carers will receive £7,500 to deliver tailored activities and mentoring for young people growing up in kinship families, helping them build confidence and stability in challenging circumstances.
Other newly-funded projects include Autism Adventures Training CIC in Speke–Garston, which will offer a youth club and volunteering opportunities alongside mentoring and practical safety strategies for neurodiverse young people, tackling issues such as county lines and coercion head-on. While in Birkenhead and Tranmere, Youth Federation will carry out targeted engagement with young people who are not attending school or have been suspended or excluded to get them back in class and on track.
“Investing in our young people is one of the most powerful ways we can prevent crime and keep our communities safe.
“The YES Fund gives young people hope, opportunities, and support to make positive choices. This extra £200,000 means more projects, more safe spaces, and more chances for young people to thrive – and that’s fantastic news for every community across Merseyside.”
Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Emily Spurrell
“Every project funded through YES is helping to steer young people away from harm and towards brighter futures.
“The feedback from the young people benefitting from our existing YES projects, as well as the organisations which run them, is incredibly inspiring and encouraging. Even some of the smallest grants are being used to run projects which are making a massive difference.
“So, we’re thrilled to announcement this extra investment, designed to bolster our 27 existing projects and deliver an extra 18 programmes across Merseyside focused on preventing serious violence and creating brighter futures for young people.”
Director of the MVRP, Superintendent Georgie Garvey
In its first year, YES funding was used to provide diversionary activities for nearly 12,000 young people, helping them to gain new skills, increase their confidence and resilience and unlocking their potential.
Each of the successful organisations has received a grant of between £5,000 and £25,000, with money focused in the areas of Merseyside which have seen the highest levels of violence, with the aim of keeping young people safe and supported and helping to steer them away from trouble.
New projects
| Organisation | Area | Project | Grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explore Partnership CIC | Knowsley | To increase our weekly youth sessions and offer targeted activities during key risk periods like summer holidays, October half-term, and Halloween/Bonfire Night. | £5,000.00 |
| Knowsley Vale Amateur Boxing Club | Knowsley | To run a boxing-based education project targeting boys from 13 to 18 living in Kirkby. | £5,000.00 |
| Norris Green Youth Centre Ltd | Liverpool | To expand and enhance our diversionary sports and creative programmes to reach more vulnerable young people aged 10–19 in our community, particularly those at risk of anti-social behaviour, exploitation, or disengagement from education. | £7,500.00 |
| TARGET Football CIC | Liverpool | The Goals for Girls project will be based in Toxteth delivering outreach sessions in schools and community venues in the surrounding areas. The aim of the project is to increase opportunities for girls and women aged 11-24 to participate in football as players/volunteers/coaches and provide access to advice, guidance and support. | £5,000.00 |
| Autism Adventures Training Ltd Community Interest Company | Liverpool | To offer a youth club base that also offers opportunities to volunteer within the local community and give young people access to mentors who can advise around concerns about county lines, coercion and hate crime, prevention strategies to offer safety, accountability and access to better life choices. | £5,000.00 |
| Be Free Campaign | Liverpool | To deliver Unlocked: Creative Spaces for Youth Empowerment – a city-wide, trauma-informed diversionary programme engaging 300 young people aged 10 to 18 across Liverpool. | £5,000.00 |
| Ellergreen Young Peoples Project CIC | Liverpool | To sustain and expand our existing trauma-informed, youth-led provision in Norris Green – an area of high deprivation and identified need. | £5,000.00 |
| First Person Project CIC | Liverpool | In collaboration with a delivery partner, Manifestive CIC, the group will deliver a programme to support the personal development of young people from underserved Liverpool communities. The project will benefit communities in and around Toxteth, including Central, Riverside, Princes Park, Fairfield West & Newsham. | £5,000.00 |
| Kinship Carers | Liverpool | To target specific work to young people who are living in kinship families across Liverpool. | £7,500.00 |
| MINDSET MATTERS NW CIC – LIVERPOOL | Liverpool | To deliver physical exercise that has been developed with lived knowledge of founders and directors and their experience of the barriers faced. | £5,000.00 |
| Netherton Park Community Association | Sefton | Project activities build empowerment through shared undertakings with each child to develop resilience to a range of often highly personalised adversities and vulnerabilities through framing pro-social identities and behavioural adaptation developed through positive ‘self-care’. | £5,000.00 |
| The Inclusive Hub CIC | Sefton | To continue working with young people at risk of offending behaviour, producing strong resilient young people, leading to strong resilient and safe communities long after VRP funding ends. The target group are young people aged 16 – 21 the majority are boys, including those involved in the local football team and their followers, some of who are girls, also at risk of offending and choosing a challenging path and lifestyle. | £7,500.00 |
| Maximum Edge CIC | St. Helens | To provide preventative and diversionary activities which draw children and young people away from crime and anti-social behaviour and towards inclusive, interactive, participation in sport and creative expression. Project would reach 170 children and young people ages 13-18 and 19-25 in the Broad Oak, Town Centre East and West and Thatto Heath wards. | £5,000.00 |
| People Empowered CIC | St. Helens | To deliver weekly diversionary activities, mentoring and workshops to 350 young people (with more targeted interventions for 30 young people) aged from 10 to 25 years who are: Living in challenged communities (in the bottom 3-10% of the Governments’ IMD). | £5,000.00 |
| Activity for All | Wirral | To deliver a project that covers a number of themes including Health & Wellbeing, Youth Engagement and Reducing/Preventing Crime. The project will be aimed at 5–11-year-olds and 11–15-year-olds. | £5,000.00 |
| Community Capacity Builders | Wirral | Working in partnership with Two Brothers Gym CIO, Community Capacity Builders CIO would seek to reach the audience of local troubled youngsters aged 14-25 using combined links and partnerships with Wirral Youth Justice Team, Local Community and Safer Schools Policing, Wirral Child & Family Service and Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS). | £5,000.00 |
| Shaftesbury Youth Club | Wirral | SYC will offer the local young people the opportunity to participate in the programme covering topics, activities and sport sessions., all on site at SYC, using indoor sports hall, climbing wall, social space communal room/cafe, IT computer suite, Media & Sensory room, 14 acres of sports pitches, and SYCs new high quality Flagship facility: 3G All Weather sports pitch. | £7,500.00 |
| Youth Federation | Wirral | To work with targeted schools in 4 areas to engage young people with high non-attendance, suspension/exclusion and violent/aggressive behaviour in schools in these locations. | £5,000.00 |