Hackney community engagement project offers events for young residents over half term
Hackney Council has teamed up with Peabody and other local partners including the Met Police, Arsenal FC and Leyton Orient FC to host a programme of events for young people in Pembury, Clarence Road and the surrounding area over half-term week.
The activities are part of a joint project to engage with young people positively and help support their career goals. The initiative supports the Mayor’s priority to make Hackney a safe and welcoming place for everyone by reducing gang and youth violence.
Throughout the week, young residents will be able to take part in:
- Football coaching sessions
- Dance classes
- Cooking lessons
- Arts and crafts workshops
- Cinema trips
- Trampolining sessions
The programme will conclude on Friday 18 February with a community event in Pembury Community Centre from 3-7pm.
Residents will have an opportunity to speak with representatives from Hackney Council, Peabody Housing the Met Police, Arsenal FC and Leyton Orient FC to get expert advice on employment training, apprenticeship schemes, leadership and mentoring programmes, and mental health support. The community event also offers face painting, a raffle draw, free food and merchandise.
We are committed to working with our partners to support the Mayor’s priority and make Hackney a safe and welcoming place to live, work and visit. The project is an excellent opportunity to improve communication between the council, police and residents while addressing issues of community safety. This community event provides young residents with a safe, relaxed and friendly environment to meet neighbours and to engage with the council’s community safety team and local police.
We are proud to be a part of the community in Pembury. Young people are engaged and want to make a difference and we want to listen to their views through a variety of community projects that take place at the Pembury Community Centre. We work closely with our local partners to bring services and support closer to the young people, and this event is a perfect opportunity for us to speak to the young people who live on our estate about events, services and training they want to see at the centre.
Hackney Police are proud to be part of this initiative, it is of vital importance that we work alongside partners in the community to enable us to forge relationships and trust with young people from the local area. Building stronger relationships in the community is imperative to address community safety, reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, and to increase community cohesion and public confidence.
Arsenal in the Community deliver a wide range of programmes in Hackney that support local young people. We are excited to be part of this project and by working with local services and our partners we hope to have a positive impact in the community.
The initiative is a further council response to feedback from the Hackney Central Conversation – a widespread engagement which saw around 2,000 residents give their views on the area, with community safety highlighted as a priority for improvement. A previous community safety project in Hackney Central between July and September 2021 resulted in robbery and antisocial behaviour in the area falling by a third.
Notes to editors
To find out more about the fun packed half-term programme from 14–18 February, please contact Anslem Herelle, Youth Coordinator on 07736 848110 anslem.herelle@peabody.org.uk or pop into the Pembury Centre to sign up.
Find out more about the Hackney Central plan at https://hcc.commonplace.is