Yarah Al Silawi, one of the Young Westminster peer researchers who carried out the study said, “interviewing young people for this needs analysis, I realised that they know what they want, they understand what’s going on and they want to make a change. Whether for themselves or for the wider community. I ask all organisations to prioritise listening to what young people in Westminster have told us in this report when implementing change. I urge you to support young people in discovering what they are capable of and the power they hold to influence change. This will be vital in continuing to improve our community.”

The emerging data reveals several major areas of concern for young people – particularly around their life plans, social action health and wellbeing, access to local services and crime and safety. There are many practical responses outlined in the ‘calls to action’ including greater engage with the wider networks around young people including parents/ carers and Schools and continued investment in the collaborations and joined up system between voluntary and statutory services in Westminster.

The report highlights a hunger from young people to be better involved in shaping the future of their community. Interviewees commented, “I hope that more people will be willing to help each other out and show compassion to each other” and ‘I’d like to see our community coming together by finding new ways of collaborating and working together”.

“The report’s findings – although sometimes stark – provide us all with tangible ways of move forward” said Helen Mann, YWF CEO. “The experiences of young people in the research are varying, reflecting the disparity and inequality that we already know exists in Westminster. Be that through opportunities around employment, with personal networks remaining a key source of work experience or access to sports, which remain prohibitive to some due to cost. We are enormously grateful to all the young people involved as peer researchers and interviewees and the collaboration of local Funders who made this ambitious project possible”.

Dr Brendan King, Impact and Learning Manager at the Westminster Foundation who co- funded the study said: ““The Westminster Foundation is dedicated to improving the young lives of those in the communities we know and to which we belong. In Westminster, finding out what challenges and obstacles these communities face is as important as understanding which programmes and practices work. The skilful interweaving of diverse voices into the report highlights the foundations from which organisations like ours can build, including the role of families, peer relationships and high-quality but affordable services. The rigorous approach to engaging seldom-heard voices encourages others in the sector to do the same by showing good practice examples from which we can all draw. For early intervention to work, we all need to hear young people, understand their needs and ensure our decisions remain informed by their lived experiences.”