Date: 13.7.2013
Tara Young, Wendy Fitzgibbon and Daniel Silverstone, three members of the Criminology team at London Met have published a report for the Charity Catch 22. Based on interviews with 'gang' involved family members in England and Scotland, the research argues that, overwhelmingly, the picture that emerges from interviews with family members is one of ‘beleaguered' families’ facing many issues, for whom having a child join a 'gang' is an added problem and a major source of stress and worry.
Those involved can come from all types of background but especially for lone parents, adolescence is a key time when parents need new strategies to cope with often violent and distressed young people.
Currently many families struggle with breaking the cycle of violence. Despite a wealth of available interventions, sending the relative away to another area, was often seen by practitioners and family members as the only possible solution.
The report and executive summary are available here:
Executive summary
http://www.catch-22.org.uk/Files/DawesUnitFamiliesSummary-web.pdf?id=35bd5151-67d0-436c-b87a-a1ee00bd75ae
Addressing the harm caused by gang crime
Catch22's Dawes Unit is a new programme, funded by the Dawes Trust, designed to address the harm caused by gang crime. The unit will work with individuals, families, schools and communities to support them to develop their capacity to address this issue.