Dear Zack @ZackPolanski It was good to see you taking part in the @mylifemysay event at the weekend. For too long, the youth "voice" in this country has gone unheard. For several decades their voices have been asked for but then disrespected by the adult establishment who never act on what has being said. What has been desperately requested. Mental health service provision and access to safe spaces and trusted adult youth work mentors etc The Hope Collective @HopeCollective2 believes this Government is truly committed at Minister level to undoing 15 years of destruction to the youth sector Personally, i think the anti immigration rhetoric dominating political discourse is futher disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of young people living in challenging circumstances through poverty and inequalities All colours and creeds. All genders and religions. Poverty does not discriminate the way wealth does! garytrowsdale.com/2025/03/23… Take a read if you see this post. Hope is the most important ingredient in a public health approach to safeguarding vulnerable young people. As my mate Sian @sianberry Knows well 🫡 #LegacyOfHope

The building on the progress is great. Derailing it through defunding the VRU network across the UK maybe not so much. Honest candid conversations needed as to much been going on behind closed doors, not necessarily in best interests of progress @karynmccluskey @JohnCarnochan legacy deserved better #PublicHealth

Brighton is a bastion of hope @youthworkable @sianberry #RefugeesWelcome

Dear Abhinay @AbhinayMuthoo, As I've been explaining. The constant churn of interventions (interventionitus) as Keir @KeirIrwinRogers terms it!! Conveyor belt to nowhere. An entire sector running to stand still where change is concerned while the fundamentals are broken. A billion or so reports talk about the youth mental health crisis but the establishment fails to take it seriously As a 15 year old girl in Liverpool once remarked at a hope hack "Do people not think poor mental health is involved with virtually every stabbing incident where young people concerned"? "They call for increased stop & search" "How about increasing mental health services"? The youth violence industry leadership does not like me very much as you know. I can't pretend it makes getting things done any easier but i also can't pretend it doesn't spur me on to keep going either.. 5 years on from @YouthViolenceUK it's worth noting that while our top line recommendations were adopted in double quick time none of our other recommendations including mental health support services were even given a second glance Do we just roll over and let the interventionitus cartel have free rein or do we go again? One last dance? @AlexAtherton100 @duncanbew @LeroyLogan999 @lbilli91 The academic crew have started the mapping process already as you'll see in final chapter policy.bristoluniversitypres… #PublicHealth

Yes and the closing remark “the budget doesn’t seem anywhere near enough” is to coin a phrase “bang on the money” or not! @annelongfield The reference to Scotland is extremely relevant still given phenomenal input @karynmccluskey brought to the Scottish table. We felt we’d created huge momentum for change with @YouthViolenceUK policy recommendations implemented in 2019 but now the public health philosophy England & Wales followed Scotlands lead with is under threat due funding restrictions and lack of political bravery to follow the lead of @MayorofLondon investment wise! We live in hope however as this Government cannot be anywhere near as bad as the one that desecrated public services from 2010-2024 - I think their intention is to support the most vulnerable but like many I am deeply concerned that a return to austerity hitting the poorest in the short term will see a further spike in crime & violence in vulnerable communities. Not really rocket science to come to this conclusion is it? Will give it best shot supporting the PM knife crime task force I was invited to participate in and after 20 years at coal face of the issues I’m not just going along for the ride that’s for sure! When you’ve been around an issue like this for so long I’d say you’re not genuinely bought in if your own mental health hasn’t suffered! Approaching 66 this is my last big push as promised Richard Taylor #Damilola25 The stop, start, stop start of political cycles and establishment policy people takes its toll. Poverty & inequalities underpin the social ill violence impacting young lives manifests from and austerity is not the solution whichever way you look at it! Civil society needs to step up and demand a place at the table. That’s what the new Civil society covenant seems to imply the Government are in favour of so we need to push hard in this direction! This must include finding funding where actual solutions need funding. Not sticking plaster “interventions” but real solutions The @HopeCollective2 mantra “Our children not somebody else’s problem” @policecommander @ChairHC @KeirIrwinRogers @AbhinayMuthoo @youthworkable @iampatrickhutch @AlexAtherton100 @Jones1Peter @govadams @Kadra_A_ @LeeJWhitehead #TeamHope