Across the 10-year lifespan of The Gifted, we have focused our delivery efforts in three main areas. North London, Hertfordshire and Essex are where we concentrate on raising aspirations of Young People. Our work mainly focuses on children from disadvantaged backgrounds. With Enfield being the 7th most deprived areas in London, our mission is to inspire and engage with the young people within the borough, by delivering hope through workshops and assemblies.
Through our Flying Start project, we have recently been working with young asylum seekers in Enfield. This project has further reinforced the need for young people interventions in this area.
Deprivation in Enfield
In the UK there are 316 local councils, of these areas Enfield is the 41st most deprived. We have seen this first hand through the delivery of our programmes. Of 183 neighbourhoods in Enfield, 72 are among the 20 per cent most income deprived in the UK.
According to the Faculty of Public Health “There is a very large research base to show that children from families living in poverty and deprivation do less well from early in life, that they fall behind their peers at school, and that they have more mental health problems and employment problems in adult life.”
Short- and long-term effects of deprivation
The long-term effect on a child from a deprived family in its simplest form, may be that the child grows up to enter into the same cycle of deprivation. By having access to limited resources and limited access to opportunities, aspirations may be affected. This may impact the educational attainment of the child. It can also affect their optimism in life, causing them to develop an overwhelming sense of hopelessness.
On a more immediate and short-term basis, the child and their family may be facing issues as serious as homelessness.
The increase of homelessness in Enfield
Whilst working with young people in the area, we have been hearing of many families who are facing homelessness. With the rise in the cost of living and in particular with interest rates going up, many landlords are increasing the rent of their properties.
The impact of this on income deprived families, means that they are at risk of eviction. We have heard of many families who are living on other people’s sofas. They have had to leave their homes, due to the cost of living crisis.
During an investigation into these issues by an ITV news correspondent, an Enfield Council spokesperson said “The government has failed to develop a plan for housebuilding across the country, is yet to tackle a ban on no-fault evictions and has not acted on reforming the local housing allowance rate.”
“The resulting financial pressures faced by all local authorities supporting the increasing numbers of homeless households are huge – this year alone we are forecasting a £20 million pressure – and affordable homes in the local private rental sector are increasingly scarce.”
The same news feature told the story of a family in Enfield who had been living in a hotel for several months, consisting of a single mother, teenager, 8-year and 5-month old baby. Although the family had been offered a more permanent solution, they had to turn it down due to the teenager being in the middle of their GCSE’s.
Delivering hope in Enfield through creative spaces
Teenagerhood can be so challenging as it is. Many teens are facing so much more than the typical ups and downs that come through this developmental stage. They are worrying about situations that are way beyond their years, and outside of their control. There are strong links with deprivation and low educational attainment, and also mental health issues.
In addition to the importance of their home-life, a child’s school-life also plays a key role. According to the Faculty of Public Health “There is pervasive evidence linking academic achievement to mental health and wellbeing”. By embedding health promotion programmes into the culture of a school “these programmes can mitigate some of the effects of suboptimal parenting”.
As well as reducing rates of exclusion, our programmes have proven to raise aspirations in young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
One participant said “Before these sessions I wanted to know how to cope with temporary bursts of self-hate. I have now learned how to acknowledge my own beauty and that everyone is beautiful, as well as how to talk to myself more positively so I can continue to work towards loving myself.”
Having completed our programmes, 80% of participants say that they feel more excited and confident about their futures.
If you work for a school based in Enfield or the surrounding areas, and would like us to engage with your pupils, please get in touch.
If you would like to give to support the delivery of our programmes to disadvantaged children across North London, Hertfordshire and Essex, you can donate through our Just Giving page.
Sources:
https://enfielddispatch.co.uk/huge-scale-of-enfields-homelessness-crisis-revealed/
