COMMUNITY CHEST CASH KEEPS YOUNG PEOPLE ‘FIT AND SAFE’

6 February 2006

Up to 44 young people from Covent Garden have been improving their fitness and keeping their neighbourhood quiet thanks to a cash boost from Camden’s Community Chest.

The ‘Fit and Safe’ project was set up with a £1,500 grant from the Community Chest and gives free gym passes to young people aged 11-19 at the Oasis sports centre in Covent Garden.

Cllr Jake Sumner, Executive Member for Community Safety and Mayor Barbara Hughes dropped in to meet some of the young people on the project at Dragon Hall, Covent Garden on Tuesday night (31 January). They heard how the young people enjoyed working out in the gym and wanted to organise more activities such as a homework class and DJ skills.

Running for only two months, the project has already had a great impact on the young people involved and the neighbourhood as a whole, according to eighteen-year-old Shafiq Rahman. “We came up with the idea for the gym passes because we wanted something that wasn’t just one night of the week. Being at the gym keeps them off the streets and helps the young people from different areas get to know each other. Now they’re always at the gym, even if they’re just socialising. We’ve had no complaints from residents and neighbours now the neighbourhood is really quiet,” says Shafiq.

Sixteen-year-old Runel Ahmed, who enjoys working out on the weight machines, agrees: “Before there wasn’t much I wanted to do and I used to stay on the streets. Now I come to the gym. Most of my friends come here and so I thought I’d come too. “

Shafiq came up with the idea for the scheme to help his younger brother and his friends keep fit and safe. He approached the Dragon Hall Trust to see what could be done.

They teamed together with the Bury Place Tenants Association and the Oasis sports centre to come up with an idea for free gym passes. Together they bid for and won funding from Camden’s Community Chest - a pot of money to help Camden community groups and individuals find their own solutions to crime and anti-social behaviour in their area.

Around £60,000 has been given out to 19 projects from Camden’s Community Chest in 2005. Last year’s entries saw stiff competition for the money with a decision on the winning projects made by a panel of community members and Camden Council representatives.

All the projects aim to reduce crime and disorder, drug related activity or anti-social behaviour and have to show that they make a difference to peoples’ lives.

Cllr Jake Sumner, Executive Member for Community Safety at Camden Council was impressed:

“The Community Chest funding is there to help people find their own solutions to keeping their area safe. This scheme is working because the idea has come from the young people themselves.

“Safety in Camden is all of our responsibilities and I am delighted that so many people in the community are working hard to make Camden better for all. These small projects - funded through the community fund - are vital pieces in the jigsaw of safety work in Camden. They help empower local communities to find solutions to the problems they face.”

The next round of Community Chest funding will be available from April 2006. Community projects wishing to apply should contact the Community Safety Team on 020 7974 2477 or download an application form from www.camden.gov.uk/communitysafety . The money is decided in two rounds. The deadline for the first round is 28 April and the second round, 29 September 2006.

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