The Prince of Wales visited Manchester today to unveil a new, three-year commitment to reduce youth violence and improve opportunities and outcomes for young people in Manchester. The £100,000 of funding is the result of a new collaboration between The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales and the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.
Significant progress has been made to reduce rates of violence amongst young people in Manchester, however this still remains a challenge and more needs to be done to tackle the issue.
Working in partnership, The Royal Foundation, the Mayor of Greater Manchester and Manchester City Council have galvanised the support of national and local businesses to amplify and extend the work of the Manchester Peace Together Alliance, by creating the Alliance’s first dedicated youth employment, skills and training programme.
This initiative marks the first time that members of the private sector have been brought on board to work with the Alliance. Businesses have committed to providing support including work shadowing, apprenticeships and employment for young people at risk of violence, helping them to achieve their aspirations and access opportunities that might otherwise be beyond their reach. The programme will run for an initial period of three years, with the aim to scale it across the Greater Manchester area in the future.
The project will be co-designed by local young people and Alliance partners and will include the establishment of a dedicated development team and a programme board that will coordinate the opportunities being offered by the business community to best meet the needs of individual young people in need of support.
“We know that working with partners and communities to provide opportunities for young people to engage in positive activity is the most effective way to ensure young people do not get involved with crime or violence. We’re committed to doing all we can to stop crime and violence and the development of a dedicated employment, skills, and training programme for young people at risk of violence and partnership between the Alliance, Manchester City Council, the business community and The Royal Foundation will certainly support this. I’m delighted to be working with The Prince of Wales in this effort to support our young people into a brighter future.”
-Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester
Supported by the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), the Manchester Peace Together Alliance is a community-led programme working to pinpoint and address the underlying causes of youth violence. The Alliance works closely with young people aged 10-25 in Hulme, Moss Side and Rusholme who are at risk of or vulnerable to youth violence, providing activities and targeted mentoring programmes to support them to succeed. In its first two years of operation, the Alliance has supported over 470 young people and families at risk.
Today’s announcement marks the third in a series of community impact projects from The Royal Foundation, designed to leave a tangible lasting legacy in communities visited by The Prince and Princess of Wales. The Royal Foundation and the Mayor of Greater Manchester have each committed £50,000 towards the initiative to help create substantial, long-term change for young people in Manchester.
The Royal Foundation will also provide £25,000 in funding to The Hideaway Youth Project to cover the cost of much needed IT equipment and the refurbishment of a recording studio. This will enable young people to gain access to IT facilities to support their educational and career development as well as allowing the Hideaway to reach and support more young people through podcasts and other recorded content.
Support for the Manchester Peace Together Alliance from the private sector is expected to grow over the coming months, helping to further expand the provision of the programme for young people across the Greater Manchester area. Businesses which have pledged their support for the project to date include:
- ANS
- Arup
- Co-Op Live
- The Co-operative Bank
- Ernst Young (EY)
- EQUANS
- Manchester City Football Club
- Manchester United Football Club
- Morgan Sindall
- NW Construction Hub
- SISK
- Timpson Group
During his time in Moss Side, The Prince of Wales visited The Hideaway Youth Project, lead partner of the Manchester Peace Together Alliance, and heard more about the impact that the programme will have on young people. His Royal Highness spent time with families impacted by youth violence, youth workers and young people supported by The Hideaway to hear more about the progress that has been achieved to date by the Alliance.
The Prince also joined a conversation with Alliance partners and representatives from businesses supporting the employment, skills and training programme to discuss how the initiative will help to elevate and extend the reach of the Alliance’s work to date by creating new opportunities for local young people.
