Mayor to respond to issues troubling Hackney’s youths

Young people lead the discussion at 'Hackney Wick Through Young Eyes' report

The discussion at ‘Hackney Wick Through Young Eyes’ report. Pic: Hackney Council

Hackney Mayor Philip Glanville has pledged to deliver a meaningful, “on the ground”, response to a new report that is voicing the ideas of young people on how to make the borough better.

Launched on Thursday February 8, ‘Hackney Wick Through Young Eyes’ allowed young people from the ward to directly communicate with influential local bodies. They were able to tell the mayor, senior councillors and local organisations about what they need to make their day-to-day lives better.

Jordan Isaacs, 17, and lead on the project, said: “This report is important to me as it expresses all young people’s problems in Hackney and gives them a chance to tell everyone how they feel.”

The final report made eight recommendations for Mayor Philip Glanville and his associates to follow up, including better local employment opportunities, and more community events “that could encourage an intergenerational exchange”.

Mayor of Hackney, Philip Glanville

Mayor of Hackney, Philip Glanville. Pic: Hackney Council

Speaking at Hackney Town Hall immediately after the launch, Glanville said: “It is imperative that we give young people a real platform to share their voice and ideas. This report gives a deep insight into how life in the borough is perceived and experienced by our young population.

“Today I pledged that not only will the Council publish a full written response, but it will deliver on the ground in Hackney Wick a meaningful response to these important challenges.”

Deprivation and Disadvantage

The report was organised and researched by “Hackney Quest”, a local organisation, working with young people and families in the area.

“[D]espite the many changes that Hackney has gone through over [recent decades], poverty and deprivation remain major issues,” said the report.

“Many other problems, such as crime and educational disadvantage, stem from this.”

Schemes like “Hackney Wick Through Young Eyes” aim to “help young people and families in the community overcome these challenges in order to reach their full potential”.

An extensive study by the Department for Communities and Local Government in 2015, calculated the ‘indices of deprivation’ for each London borough. It named Hackney as the most deprived area in London, and Hackney Wick as the most impoverished of the borough’s 21 wards.

London Data Store, deprivation stats

London boroughs ranked by 2015 ‘Index of Multiple Deprivation’, most deprived to least, Source: London Assembly, London Data Store

 

According to Luke Billingham, 26, of Hackney Quest, local government outreach schemes like “Hackney Wick Through Young Eyes” perform a vital service for the deprived ward’s significant under-19 population (26% of its total), highlighting “major issues in the area that need to be addressed”.

One Response

  1. K Beard February 13, 2018

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