Young people on the Ipswich Team Programme are using social action to spread awareness about knife crime in their local area.
The students, who are attending the programme to improve their life skills and move onto their next steps, wanted to tackle the issue of knife crime as part of their community project which forms a vital part of their learning and development on the course.
Michael, 16, explained the importance of eduation in preventing people picking up a knife, “It is a very pressing issues that causes stress and agony for the victims and their families. People shouldn’t have to live with the fear of being threatened or stabbed by a knife.”
After talks from knife crime awareness advocates, Lucky 13 Tattoo Studio, and Suffolk Police, the team chose to fundraise for a bleed control kit for Lindbergh Road in Ipswich with a sponsored walk, quiz night and raffle, as well as challenging themselves to get donations from the public.
Another of those involved, Gracie, 16, stressed the dangers that come with choosing to carry a weapon: “We learned that 1 in 3 people who carry a knife end up harming themselves with the weapon.”
Vik, 22, said: “People should donate because the more bleed kits we get out there, the more lives we can save.”
If you’d like to help the team reach their target, you can visit their fundraising page here.