Frequently asked questions

Running on a Monday and Friday, it is a safe, welcoming environment for young people to come to. At a subjective level, youth clubs are at the heart, of arguably the nation, with many feeling that the decline in many areas across the board correlates with a felt decrease in the number of Youth Clubs.

Whilst the aim is to be able to support young people of all ages, at this current moment we support young people between 10-17 at our After School Club.

(This can be subject to change so we encourage you to follow us on our social media outlets to stay up to date with news, updates and changes)

 

Our youth hub runs during term-time and runs on:

Monday - We currently run our Youth Hub on Monday from 15:00-17:00

Friday - We currently run our Youth Hub on Friday from 15:00-18:30

There are some Mondays and Fridays that we aren’t open throughout the year due to things outside of our control, for example, bank holidays or office closure so please see our social media for updates.

Our Youth Hub operates in our unit at Lives Not Knives in Croydon Centrale (above Zara opposite Next)

LNK Unit, Upper Mall

Centrale Shopping Centre, CR0 1TY

 

Just come and turn up!

You will be greeted by a youth worker, who will sign you in and show you around. 

All we ask is that you come to have fun, chill, relax and respect our staff, the other young people and importantly yourself.

Anyone can come to Youth Hub, as long as you are within the age range of 9 – 18 

Youth Hub is completely free! 

We ask you to fill in the form as best you can, we aim to support all young people of different needs. The more information provided to us regarding additional support and information, the better our staff will be equipped to support your young person to the best of our abilities.

Whilst we aim to be able to support young people of all ages, at this current moment we support young people between 10-16*.

*This can be subject to change so we encourage you to follow us on our social media outlets to stay up to date with news, updates and changes*

Engage Youth Hub runs twice a week after school, Monday 3 pm – 5 pm and Friday 3 pm – 6:30 pm. It’s a place where young people can come completely free of charge, and take part in activities, talk to fellow young people or even a place of study, all whilst having fully trained youth workers on sight full time to help young people anyway they can.

Our half term and summer programmes are typically Tuesday-Friday, 11-4, during the following school holidays:

• October Half-Term

• Christmas Holidays*

• February Half-Term

• April Half-Term

• May/June Half-Term

• Summer Holidays

We always encourage people to follow us on our social media, where we give accurate updates and news about what is going on at Lives Not Knives!

*Sometimes the dates change due to unforeseen circumstances, so be sure to follow us on social media or contact us to find out!*

The main base for the delivery of our programme is in our Unit, at Upper Mall, Centrale, Croydon, CR0 1TY.

Young people will meet us at the unit at the start of the day and depart from the unit at the end. A key part of the Holiday Programme is giving young people the holiday they deserve, which includes trips and visits to a variety of different places; that they may or may not usually go to. Some of these places include local parks, cinemas, activity venues, London, Brighton and more! 

We have a number of different programmes on throughout the year, some having different sign-up steps, with this being said ALL of them will require parents/guardians to sign up via our website, www.livesnotknives.org, where any additional information/requirement will be provided for that specific holiday programme. 

You can also follow us on Social media, and signup to our Linktree notifications to keep up to date.

It is completely funded by sponsors of Lives Not Knives, which means it is free for you!

Additional costs cannot be covered by the charity, for example, if we go to a trip to a museum, some young people may bring pocket money to spend at the shop – we are unable to provide money for young people who don’t have with them. With this being said, we try our hardest to ensure that young people don’t feel left out or have any negative experiences – so we would aim to avoid trips that have additional costs or do so in a discreet way. 

If young people don’t want to eat the food provided and would like to eat from a different food provider, they are asked to not bring it back with the group.

Lives Not Knives re committed to supporting young people and their families on free school meals and aim to provide a hot meal, with protein and vegetables. 

Where possible we aim to provide snacks, and leftovers (however this is subject to availability and cannot be guaranteed as part of our other commitments).

If your young people have a favourite snack that they want to bring, they can – we would just encourage them to be mindful of others who may not.

(Please note if your young person has allergies they MUST complete the section on our sign-up form so that we can make arrangements to provide food for them – if this is not completed we may not be able to make arrangements on the day)

No! 

As part of the commitment to delivering a holiday programme that includes fun and enriching activities, we will cover the travel costs.

However, we ask that young people bring an Oyster, and if they don’t have one to let us know in advance so that we can budget accordingly – in a failure to do so we may not be able to cover the young person’s costs.

Young people aged 10-16, who want to have a fun, exciting and engaging holiday!

Some of our programmes are delivered to different groups, and as above it is best to check the terms and conditions for the specific holiday programme you are signing up for. For example, our Easter Programme has an eligibility criterion whereby we can only support young people on a pupil premium. We also have activity-specific opportunities – I.e. football-only days.

Working with Corporate Volunteers to support young people with building their soft skills. LNK host Empower days at the Unit, and within the schools in Croydon that we partner with through LNK Educate. 

An Empower Day, supports young people to build conversational skills, soft skills, a CV and offers a pre-interview. 

If you are a corporate looking to volunteer for an Empower Day please contacts us!

To give power, confidence, and capability to do something; influencing self-actualization and self-efficacy

Yes!

Yes!

Any young person between the ages of 11-18 can get help!

Mentoring is a relationship (predominantly on a one-to-one basis, but can also include group work), where an individual, who often possesses knowledge, guidance, advice and support, shares their time and efforts in working with a mentee to better their well-being.

Mentoring at Lives Not Knives is used as a tool to prevent and intervene with the issues that young people face, including; knife crime, gang culture, anti-social behaviour, adversities, personal struggles and mental health problems. 

 

 

How do I get my child a mentor?

At Lives Not Knives we offer formal and informal mentoring:

Formal mentoring - is delivered in schools that we have a partnership with.

Informal mentoring – takes place in-house.

Please note that unless we work in your young person’s school, we are unable to provide formal mentoring.

 

Can I make a referral to the school?

If we work in your young person’s school you can talk to the Designated Safeguarding Lead or your Head of Year and make them aware that you would your young person to be mentored, but there is no guarantee that they will be on the list of referrals that we work with. However, we would strongly encourage and young person or family to contact us if they would like to have an active role in their participation with mentoring to see if we can make informal arrangements at our Youth Hub.

 

Why is my child being mentored?

The school – but we won’t mentor if the young person does not want to be mentored (after being patient and seeing if they would like to try)

 

 

Do you work with my young person?

We are unable to share this information and if we do work with your young person on a formal basis at school, the relevant member of staff at your school will have made contact with you. 

 

 

Can I meet my child’s mentor?

We encourage all parents or guardians to contact us so we can work with all those involved in supporting young people – and we often have parent days where you can meet the mentors! 

 

 

What do you do in mentoring? 

All mentees will have one-to-one sessions with their mentors during the school day to engage in activities, set goals, and discuss their thoughts, feelings, or problems. These sessions may focus on developing skills, exploring future prospects, and receiving guidance, praise, and support. Mentors can empower mentees, offer advice, help find opportunities, and listen non-judgementally. Activities may include sports, board games, painting, working through goal-specific workpacks, or simply serving as a positive role model.

 

 

Is mentoring helpful?

Government research suggests that mentoring is helpful and can help prevent re/offending. 

Our own research found in 2022, that of 168 mentees:

95% liked speaking to their mentor

97% felt their mentor was a good listener and has helped them to express themselves

96% felt their mentor helped them to understand their purpose and how they can achieve their goals

89% felt better supported with their mentor

And 87% felt their mentor helped them to better understand and control their emotions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who are the mentors?

Our team is continually growing, and all mentors are trained in areas such as Safeguarding, Mental Health First Aid, Sexual Health, First Aid, Bereavement, and Counselling Skills. Mentors are assigned based on their strengths and the needs of the mentee, such as pairing those experienced with anxiety to relevant mentees. As a youth-led charity, our staff understand the challenges faced by young people in London, bolstered by their training and personal experiences with youth crime and violence. This equips them to build effective relationships and provide guidance to help mentees make positive choices.

 

 

Is mentoring free?

Parents/guardians do not have to pay for their young people to be mentored – however, if you’d like to donate it goes a long way in helping us continue our work with young people, and keeping this free service running.

 

 

How long do young people have a mentor for?

The aim is to mentor young people for the duration of the academic year, however there may be unforeseen circumstances that result in the young person not having a mentor.

 

 

 

What are the roadshows?

Lives Not Knives Roadshows are a key part of our mission, originating from our early efforts. These sessions cover topics related to knife crime, anti-social behaviour, gang culture, decision-making, and empowerment, tailored to specific requests.

Lives Not Knives educates young people on the negative impacts of gang involvement and carrying knives, aiming to empower them to make better choices. Conducted by qualified, DBS-checked youth workers trained by our CEO, the roadshows include locally relevant data and age-appropriate activities tailored to each school's needs. Our facilitators deliver impactful workshops to address the risks and realities students face, promoting positive alternatives to violence.

 

 

 

How do we get a roadshow in our school?

If you are a parent, guardian or student and you would like us to deliver a roadshow in your school, please contact a staff member in your school to get in contact with us. If you are unsure of how to do this please contact us at info@livesnotknives.org or jack@livesnotknives.org

 

 

How long are the roadshows?

We offer a number of services and options, with a priority being that they are tailor-made to meet the needs of the school and their pupils. Our roadshows are often the length of a lesson period (45-50 minutes). We also offer a service where we deliver roadshows throughout the course of the day – in a “Drop-Down Day fashion” We are also able to make adjustments, to tailor the session to time constraints – in turn covering specific and required content as requested by the school/organisation.

For more information contact info@livesnotknives.org and jack@livesnotknives.org

 

If you are a member of staff at a school and think that we should be working with your young people please contact us at info@livesnotknives.org or jack@livesnotknives.org 

At Lives Not Knives we offer formal and informal mentoring:

Formal mentoring - is delivered in schools that we have a partnership with.

Informal mentoring – takes place in-house.

Please note that unless we work in your young person’s school, we are unable to provide formal mentoring.

If we work in your young person’s school you can talk to the Designated Safeguarding Lead or your Head of Year and make them aware that you would your young person to be mentored, but there is no guarantee that they will be on the list of referrals that we work with. However, we would strongly encourage and young person or family to contact us if they would like to have an active role in their participation with mentoring to see if we can make informal arrangements at our Youth Hub.

The school – but we won’t mentor if the young person does not want to be mentored (after being patient and seeing if they would like to try).

We are unable to share this information and if we do work with your young person on a formal basis at school, the relevant member of staff at your school will have made contact with you. 

We encourage all parents or guardians to contact us so we can work with all those involved in supporting young people – and we often have parent days where you can meet the mentors! 

All mentees will have one-to-one sessions with their mentors during the school day to engage in activities, set goals, and discuss their thoughts, feelings, or problems. These sessions may focus on developing skills, exploring future prospects, and receiving guidance, praise, and support. Mentors can empower mentees, offer advice, help find opportunities, and listen non-judgementally. Activities may include sports, board games, painting, working through goal-specific workpacks, or simply serving as a positive role model.

Government research suggests that mentoring is helpful and can help prevent re/offending. 

Our own research found in 2022, that of 168 mentees:

95% liked speaking to their mentor

97% felt their mentor was a good listener and has helped them to express themselves

96% felt their mentor helped them to understand their purpose and how they can achieve their goals

89% felt better supported with their mentor

And 87% felt their mentor helped them to better understand and control their emotions.

Our team is continually growing, and all mentors are trained in areas such as Safeguarding, Mental Health First Aid, Sexual Health, First Aid, Bereavement, and Counselling Skills. Mentors are assigned based on their strengths and the needs of the mentee, such as pairing those experienced with anxiety to relevant mentees. As a youth-led charity, our staff understand the challenges faced by young people in London, bolstered by their training and personal experiences with youth crime and violence. This equips them to build effective relationships and provide guidance to help mentees make positive choices.

Parents/guardians do not have to pay for their young people to be mentored – however, if you’d like to donate it goes a long way in helping us continue our work with young people, and keeping this free service running.

The aim is to mentor young people for the duration of the academic year, however there may be unforeseen circumstances that result in the young person not having a mentor.

Lives Not Knives Roadshows are a key part of our mission, originating from our early efforts. These sessions cover topics related to knife crime, anti-social behaviour, gang culture, decision-making, and empowerment, tailored to specific requests.

Lives Not Knives educates young people on the negative impacts of gang involvement and carrying knives, aiming to empower them to make better choices. Conducted by qualified, DBS-checked youth workers trained by our CEO, the roadshows include locally relevant data and age-appropriate activities tailored to each school's needs. Our facilitators deliver impactful workshops to address the risks and realities students face, promoting positive alternatives to violence.

If you are a parent, guardian or student and you would like us to deliver a roadshow in your school, please contact a staff member in your school to get in contact with us. If you are unsure of how to do this please contact us at info@livesnotknives.org or jack@livesnotknives.org

We offer a number of services and options, with a priority being that they are tailor-made to meet the needs of the school and their pupils. Our roadshows are often the length of a lesson period (45-50 minutes). We also offer a service where we deliver roadshows throughout the course of the day – in a “Drop-Down Day fashion” We are also able to make adjustments, to tailor the session to time constraints – in turn covering specific and required content as requested by the school/organisation.

For more information contact info@livesnotknives.org and jack@livesnotknives.org

If you are a member of staff at a school and think that we should be working with your young people please contact us at info@livesnotknives.org or jack@livesnotknives.org