Hadley Students Launch Campaign for Safe Teen Zones

Four ambitious A-level students from Oasis Academy Hadley, have embarked on an inspiring journey. Their campaign, known as ‘SecureTeenZones,’ aims to create safe and supportive spaces for teenagers, not only in their local area, but across London. They are participating in the Inspire US campaign competition, which offers the chance for five winning teams to travel to Washington, United States, just before election week.

Farah, Ruya, Adea, and Alisa’s campaign, ‘SecureTeenZones,’ is driven by their desire to improve local youth centres. Through their research, they discovered a staggering £1.1 billion cut in local authority funding for youth services since 2010. Despite these challenges, the students are determined to make a positive impact, with strong support from their school. Their teachers have been encouraging and ready to assist whenever necessary.

In a bid to raise awareness and gather resources, the students have been actively involved in their local community. They organised a successful bake sale, raising over £200. With the funds, they purchased sports equipment, educational games, sanitary items, cakes, and arts and crafts supplies, which they donated to their local youth centre. Additionally, they set up a GoFundMe account to collect further donations.

Their efforts caught the attention of their Principal, Ms Z Thompson, who expressed her pride in the students, saying, "Our students have shown remarkable dedication and initiative with the SecureTeenZones campaign. They are making a real difference in our community, and their hard work is truly inspiring."

Encouraged and advised by their supportive Principal, the students reached out to our Founder, Steve Chalke! To their delight, Rev. Chalke, responded with full support, tweeting about the campaign on his X account. He wrote: “Four extraordinary students from @OasisHadley – Farah, Ruya, Adea and Alisa – are leading a campaign advocating for more safe spaces for young people in light of the fact that £1.1 billion has been cut in funding for local youth services since 2010!"

"As I’ve already said, youth inclusion is key to eliminating youth violence. Support their campaign on Instagram, to help make sure our children and young people get the investment they need!” His tweet highlighted the importance of providing secure zones for youth to develop and thrive, urging the community to support this vital cause.

The students also created an Instagram account, @secureteenzones, to further raise awareness and gather support through social media. Their determination to enhance the lives of young people and represent Oasis in America, is unwavering.

Ms. Thompson added, "These students are a shining example of how our youth can lead and inspire change. Their campaign is not only about improving facilities but also about bringing attention to the needs of our young people. I encourage everyone to support SecureTeenZones in any way they can."

With their campaign gaining momentum, Farah, Ruya, Adea, and Alisa are hopeful that their efforts will lead to significant improvements in youth services and create safer environments for teenagers, they were also featured on their local news for raising awareness on safe teen zones! Well done to them all for fighting for better youth service provisions!

You can read more here - https://enfielddispatch.co.uk/ponders-end-teens-launch-campaign-fighting-for-better-youth-service-provision/.