The Ben Kinsella Trust’s Youth Ambassadors Programme gives young people a voice in the efforts to stop knife crime.
Knife crime disproportionately affects young people. According to research from the Youth Endowment Fund (2023), half of all teenagers witnessed or were victims of violence in England and Wales last year. Furthermore, young people are twice as likely to be murdered in a knife attack compared to any other age group (Office for National Statistics, 2024).
The Youth Ambassadors Programme empowers young people with the knowledge, skills, confidence and leadership to take their ideas and turn them into meaningful, preventative, anti-knife crime campaigns.
Young people taking part in the programme learn about knife crime and topics surrounding knife crime; they learn first aid skills so they completely understand the physical consequences of a stabbing; they learn presentation and public speaking skills, and through media training they learn how to present and speak confidently on camera. With a £500 grant, young people go on to design and run their own local campaign: raising awareness about knife crime in their local area and taking steps towards its prevention.
You can find out more about our Youth Ambassadors programme by visiting our website here: https://benkinsella.org.uk/youth-amba…