The Knife Awareness Project (KAP) is a specialist educational programme developed by ACT CiC to prevent youth violence. Our programmes seeks to engage young people and effectively challenge the types of thinking and behaviour that can lead to the loss of their own life or someone else's. Please take a look through to find out more about us, our story, and the services we offer.

Formulated in 2013, after ACT CiC founder Teswal White was contacted by up and coming rapper and music mentor Nathaniel James (26), following the killings of five young people in Birming-ham in one year, Kyle Sheehan (16), Christina Edkins (16), Hasan Mahmood (15), Azim Azam (16) and Joshua Ribera (18). All of the fatal stabbings happened within a 12 month period.

Nathaniel being no stranger to tragedy, after the loss of his first cousin Jahmaine Downer aged 15, who was stabbed trying to protect his mother exactly ten years prior to the death of Hasan Mahmood. Hasan was stabbed in his back after a fight escalated on social media by a 17 year old. Four months early Christina Edkins was killed on her way to school in a seemingly random knife attack. Six months later Azim Azam was stabbed on his way to his first day at college following an altercation with 18 year old.

Days later Grime Artist Joshua Ribera aka Depzman is killed after receiving a stab wound following a fight with another 18 year old, at a memorial event for his friend Kyle Sheehan.

Kyle was fatally stabbed exactly one year earlier on 21st September 2012 (International Peace Day), his killer has still not been found.

A few days later after being touched by the recent tragedies, Nathaniel began the 'Respect a life, Drop the knife’ campaign using Facebook, which attracted over 5,000 followers within weeks of it going live.

Overwhelmed by the support from the community it became clear that not enough action was being taken to address the issues young people were facing around youth violence, and that action was needed to help deter young people away from carrying knives and preventing youth violence.

Nathaniel then contacted ACT CiC, a social enterprise that supports people to develop projects and take action on issues that affect young people. The result?...

The Knife Awareness Project & Preventing Youth Violence Educational Programme is Created...

The Knife Awareness Project (KAP) was...

Unity in the Community (Unity INC.)

A local community based organisation with the aim of deterring young people away from knife crime using music and mentoring to support young people and prevent the loss of life to knife crime.

Alkhami Consultancy & Training

is a training and consultancy company, established in 2007 by founder Teswal White, to provide specialised engagement, strategic development, consultancy services and young people services. Alkhami has worked with Birmingham, Solihull, Sandwell and Walsall Local Authorities, NHS, numerous schools, third sector organisations, and housing associations to enable the difference to their client’s engagement and develop-ment strategies.

ACT Activating Creative Talent CIC

is a specialist youth development and creative arts organisation.

Dedicated to supporting young people’s transition through adolescence and overcome the barriers that can hinder their positive development such as underachievement, youth unemployment, youth violence & crime. Founded in 2009 ACT has extensive experience in creating and delivering educational and creative arts based programmes.

Drop the Knife. Get a Life is a knife crime campaign, based in Sheffield, which raises awareness of knife crime through various initiatives. These include identifying local youth clubs and activities that actively seek to reduce youth violence, and raising funds for their various activities and causes. They also work closely with BME communi-ties and religious groups with the aim of closer community cohesion and support in tackling knife crime.

The TeamThe main organisations currently involved in the Knife Awareness Project are:

THE PROBLEM

Young people carrying knives or using any form of violent weapons is a growing concern for our communities...This is even more concerning when young people are killed senselessly. The devastating effects of the deaths of so many young people within our community has served to demonstrate that not enough is being done to prevent young people from carrying weapons and falling victim to violence.

A mother who suffered the loss of her son due to knife crime stressed,

‘if young people knew their self-worth, then they would not pick up a knife or any other tool with the intention of killing or causing serious harm to another person’. Research consistently shows links between deprived neighbourhoods, high levels of violence and weapon use. Poverty and inequality have become entrenched in areas where, in the absence of employ-ment or meaningful material assistance:

• The lack of economic opportunities for young people stimulates illegal economies around drugs, stolen goods and protection.

• Where neighbourhoods are threatening, weapon carrying may make young people feel safe.

• Weapon carrying can become relatively ‘normalised’ in certain groups and contexts.

• Being exposed to violence predicts weapon carrying and violence by those who are victims or who witness violence.

Taken from “Young people, knives and guns: A comprehensive review, analysis and critique of gun and knife crime strategies” centre for crime and justice studies September 2009

OUR APPROACH“You think it will never happen to you, and when it does happen, you just don’t know how to react.I followed my attacker onto the bus after getting mugged, all I could think was, you’re not taking my phone and then he stabbed me in the chest! I was told by my doctors the only reason I survived was the fact that I was a high class amateur boxer”.Kieran 'the hench goodlooking kid ' Quinlan (21)

We believe there is still much that can be done, not only to prevent and deter young people away from carrying knives, but also in educating all young people in how to avoid or deal with life threatening situations. Knife crime is not a gang problem, many innocent lives are lost to knife crime needlessly.

Our strategy is not only focused on deterring young people from carrying knives, but ensuring young people are taught how to stay safe and given realistic alternative strategies to deal with the issues that affect them.

KNIFE AWARENESS PROJECT (KAP)The Knife Awareness Project (KAP) main focus is to reduce the number of knife related incidents and fatalities by 30% by the year 2018.

This project aims to tackle knife crime by first reducing the amount of young people willing to carry knives.

We believe the vast majority of young people who carry knives do so without thinking about the risks, consequences and impact of carrying a knife.

We want to affect young people’s thinking and make them think twice before picking up a knife, which is where our Assemblies and our Workshops come in.

OUR AIMIt is our aim to reach as many young people as we can through our KAP assemblies, to ensure all young people are armed with knowledge, and a basic awareness of the risks, consequences and impact of carrying knives.

Our assemblies are designed for secondary schools and have proven to have a high impact in a very short space of time. Our assemblies include small dramas, presentations by victims and ex-perpetrators of knife crime, also family members who have lost loved ones. Young people will also be given the facts about knives in order to help deter young people from carrying them.

PREVENTING YOUTH VIOLENCE EDUCATION (PYVE)Our Preventing Youth Violence Educational (PYVE) Programme is targeted at young people who are at risk of disengaging from school, underachieving, or at risk of becoming involved in violence.

Our programme begins a process to prevent young people from carrying a knife and becoming involved in violence. Using creativity as a medium to engage and explore the impact of knife crime and youth violence. Our sessions help to create a safe space for young people to discuss the issues around youth violence and knife crime that impact them.

COST / FUNDING Please contact us to see if your school is in our catchment area to receive any subsidies or funding for your school to receive our assemblies and/or workshops

CONCLUSIONWe thank you for taking the time to read through our information pack

By now we hope you can see the importance of our assemblies and workshops, because we believe educating young people to the risks, consequences and impact surrounding knives can help prevent the loss of young lives.

Contact us today to see how we can work together to better prepare your pupils to keep safe and prevent youth violence.

ACT CICUnit 307 Telsen Centre, 55 Thomas Street Birmingham, West Midlands, B6 4TN

T: 0121 356 1944 M: 07782 164 152Email: Info@actcic.org.ukWeb: www.actcic.org.uk@ACTCiC @knifeawareness #Knifeawareness

THE KNIFE AWARENESS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY

Nicholls, S. 2013.Birmingham Mail. Replay: How we reported the fatal stabbing of teenager Azim Azam in Moseley.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local- news/replay-how-reported-fatal-stabbing-6029457 01/04/2014

Nicholls, S. 2013. Birmingham Mail. Moseley stabbing: Murder probe launched after teenager dies.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/-moseley-stabbing-teenager-dies-injuries-6029565 . 01/04/2014

Olsham, J. 2013. Birmingham Mail. Knife killings in Birmingham triple in one year.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local- news/knife-killings-birmingham-triple-one-6083015 08/04/2014

Savvas, C. 2013. Birmingham Mail. 'He was my world' Heartbroken mother of murdered teen rapper Joshua Ribera pays tribute.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local -news/he-world-heartbroken-mother -murdered-6076108. 01/04/2014

Savvas, C. 2013. Birmingham Mail. Music artist stabbed to death attending fundraiser for friend Kyle Sheehan murdered exactly one year ago.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local -news/selly-oak-murder-music-artist-6073711. 01/04/2014

The Birmingham Press. 2013. Knives end lives - warning by West Midlands Police.

http://thebirminghampress.com/2013/09/ knives-end -lives-warning-by-west-midlands-police/ 08/04/2014

ACT CICUnit 307 Telsen Centre, 55 Thomas Street Birmingham, West Midlands, B6 4TN

T: 0121 356 1944 M: 07782 164 152Email: Info@actcic.org.ukWeb: www.actcic.org.uk@ACTCiC @knifeawareness

#Knifeawareness

CONTACT US

REFERENCES

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