Building Safer Communities Through Youth Engagement in Clifton

We're excited to announce that Step Out, Stay Out has received funding through the Safer Nottinghamshire Together grants programme to expand our youth work on the Clifton Estate.

Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden recently visited our kickabout session to see first-hand how we're making a difference in the community. It was great to welcome him back after his first visit 18 months ago.

Our founder Pete Bell explained what the funding means for the community:

"The project is going to be about expanding what we do to get to meet more young people. We want to do more nights like this. We want to engage with them at the weekend because we know there's a lot of antisocial behaviour."

Since 2018, we've been running activities across the Clifton Estate, including football kickabouts for young people aged seven to sixteen, badminton and walking football for older residents, and a youth club several nights a week. Many of the children who attend our sessions aren't part of any clubs, so we provide a space where they can simply turn up and play.

With this new funding, we'll be expanding to three evenings a week, offering:

• Sports and creative activities
• Mentoring and wellbeing support
• Sessions shaped by the young people themselves

We're passionate about empowerment and creating pathways for the next generation. As Pete put it:

"We'd like to produce the next referees, the next football coaches, and give them opportunities through funding and our time and our lived experience."

Our outreach work will involve partnering with other organisations to help steer young people in the right direction and support them in making positive decisions.

We'd like to thank PCC Gary Godden and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire for their continued support in helping us build safer, stronger communities in Clifton.