Youth Endowment Fund, Co-op, #iwill Fund invest a further £7.5 million into the Peer Action Collective (PAC): giving 10–25-year-olds a voice and the chance to make their communities safer, fairer places

20 March 2023

The Peer Action Collective (PAC) is a ground-breaking network of young people, led by 120 Peer Researchers and 1,600 Changemakers, who have so far reached over 4,600 young people through their work.
The new £7.5 million investment from Youth Endowment Fund, Co-op and the #iwill Fund will see PAC deliver youth-led research and social action projects for a further five years.
The long-term investment comes as PAC’s first research report, based on insight from over 4,600 young people, reveals young people worry social deprivation, compounded by the cost-of-living crisis, will negatively impact their safety and employment prospects.

Co-op, the Youth Endowment Fund and the #iwill Fund are today (20 March) announcing a further £7.5 million investment into the ground-breaking youth-led network, the Peer Action Collective (PAC) to further support young people to make communities safer and fairer.

The Peer Action Collective (PAC) aims to give young people the chance to make their communities safer, fairer places to live. It is funded by Co-op, the Youth Endowment Fund and the #iwill Fund (a joint investment between The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport).

The new investment will see PAC continue for another five years with the goal to positively impact the lives of over 11,000 young people in England and Wales through peer research and social action. By 2028 Co-op, the Youth Endowment fund and the #iwill Fund will have invested £12.7 million into the PAC, creating long term and sustainable social action to help young people access opportunities and live a life free from violence.

The new investment comes as PAC publishes its first research report. The findings are based on insights gathered by 120 peer researchers, aged 16 to 25, and involving 4,600 participants (aged 10-20). Trained and supported by The Young Foundation, the peer researchers found that young people across England and Wales are experiencing violence in their communities and facing discrimination, which they attribute to:

Social deprivation and lack of opportunities. Young people fear the cost-of-living crisis and increasing financial challenges will lead to increased crime and violence.
Relationships with peers, friends and family. Many young people spoke about the need to fit in with their peers and how this contributes to an environment, particularly in schools, where they feel pressure to fit in and go along with others.
Availability of physical safe spaces. Young people shared that where they previously were able to meet in youth clubs and through other organised activities, cuts to funding for these services have led to a limited number of safe places for them to socialise.
A lack of mental health support. Young people have spoken about the challenges of finding and accessing appropriate support for mental health. They described feeling that their mental health was not taken seriously, culminating in frustration and resentment.
Gender, LGBTQ+ and race inequalities. Young people have spoken out about how different aspects of their identity impact on experiences, people talked about disability, neurodiversity, socio-economic background, and most commonly gender, sexuality and race.

Explaining their reasons for being part of the PAC, a Peer Researcher from the East of England said: "Us young people are shut out so often, and this project has provided us with space to speak up. Not only do we help facilitate what other young people want, we can share our ideas and put them into action. We can make change to the issues that are really impacting us, issues that people in power seem out of touch with."

PAC opportunities

Research from the ground-breaking PAC report reveals eight areas where young people want support to make their communities safer and fairer:

‘We want you to deal with the small stuff.’ Young people want to see us stop ignoring ‘low level’ bullying and homophobic, racist and sexist remarks online or in-person.
‘We need access to and knowledge of opportunities that are accessible to us.’ The cost-of-living crisis has only increased the urgency of needing access to meaningful employment.
‘More youth friendly spaces would contribute to how safe we feel.’ Having access to appropriate physical space contributed to how safe young people feel. Young people need more places to go where they are not competing for space and are supported by adults that they trust.
‘Schools need to feel like safe spaces and should help prevent violence.’ Young people want their education system to help build a more tolerant society and prevent violence early on.
‘Mental health support should be easy to access.’ Young people need access to mental health services that are responsive and offer early intervention. 
‘Young people should feel safe on social media.’ Young people want to feel safe and protected online, especially on social media. They want to know that they can report inappropriate content and it will be managed appropriately and quickly.
‘We need you to consider the inequalities and lived experiences of young people to find solutions to youth violence.’ Young people’s identities shape the way they experience youth violence and inequalities and must be recognised when working to reduce it.
‘Young people should be partners in developing solutions to change’ Engagement needs to be genuine, with a commitment to implementing change.

To launch the new research findings, 20 young people from across PAC will be presenting their findings and recommendations at an event in the House of Commons today (20 March) to an audience of MPs, Ministers and senior stakeholders from across the business and charity sector. They will make eight recommendations for change and ask for people to pledge to join them with their support.

Co-op is investing £2.5 million into the PAC through funding from its members via the Co-op Community Partnerships Fund and is a core part of Co-op’s commitment to creating fairer access to opportunities for young people. It follows the recent launch of its national charity partnership with Barnardo’s to support 750,000 young people aged 10-25 years old to help improve their mental wellbeing, confidence and self-esteem, in addition to improving their access to basic needs, such as food.

Rebecca Birkbeck, Director of Community and Member Participation at Co-op said: “Our work in our local communities has shown us the positive, long term impact young people can have when they are given opportunities to act on the issues they care about.

“The research from the young people in the Peer Action Collective lays bare the inequalities their generation are now facing and we simply cannot have a situation where they feel they cannot change their path or improve their life chances.

“At Co-op, our priority is to enable young people to use their voices and take charge of their own lives, no matter where they live or their background. Whether it be through our other youth-led programmes like our Co-op Academies or our new charity partnership with Barnado’s, or today through our £4.1m investment in the Peer Action Collective, we are committed to ensuring young people’s voices and lived experiences are heard to help create safer communities and the world a fairer place.”

Peter Babudu, Assistant Director of Research and Youth Understanding at the Youth Endowment Fund said: “The Youth Endowment Fund’s mission to prevent children and young people becoming involved in violence. To do this, we need to understand their lives, the issues they face and what works to keep them safe from harm. The Peer Action Collective is a key part of helping us do this.

“Over the last 17 months, PAC has demonstrated that there’s a real appetite from young people to be the change they want to see in the world. We’re delighted to announce our long-term support for the project. Some fantastic youth-led initiatives have been born out of the peer research. The continuation of PAC will give even more young people the opportunity to be at the forefront of making change happen in their communities.”

The #iwill Fund is made possible thanks to a £66 million joint investment from The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support young people to access high quality social action. The #iwill Fund is investing a further £2.5 million into the PAC, to help change adult understanding of issues around youth violence, and create social action projects in local communities to improve provision, spaces, and relationships.

Phil Chamberlain, England Director of Strategy, Partnerships and Engagement at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players and DCMS, the work of the #iwill Fund continues to have an incredible impact on young people, providing them with a platform to share their experiences and help inspire positive, lasting change in their communities.

“The National Lottery Community Fund is committed to youth voice and through this additional investment in the Peer Action Collective, we can build on our ongoing work to further understand and inform how to best support young people now and in the future.”

Helen Goulden OBE, Chief Executive at The Young Foundation said: “The Young Foundation is proud to have co-delivered this important work. The deeply participatory approach of the Peer Action Collective has uncovered an incredible range of young people’s stories, experiences, and perspectives of serious violence. While these can be incredibly hard to hear, we must listen - and take action. They are crucial in shaping a safer, fairer future for young people.”

To read the full PAC research report and to join the campaign to help support more young people visit the PAC website and Instagram page.

ENDS

About the Peer Action Collective (PAC): The Peer Action Collective aims to give young people the chance to make their communities safer, fairer places to live. It is funded by the Youth Endowment Fund, the #iwill Fund (a joint investment between The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) and the Co-op Group.

All too often, young people who experience violence aren’t heard. But change won’t happen if they’re not at the heart of it. That’s why the Peer Action Collective (PAC) exists.

Funded by the Youth Endowment Fund, the #iwill Fund (a joint investment between The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) and the Co-op Group, the PAC is here to support young people to take the lead. It’s a ground-breaking network of peer researchers. That means that young people will be in charge of asking questions and finding out what needs to happen to make their area a better place for to live.

But it’s about more than learning about what needs to change. Being part of the PAC means young people will get support to take their research and turn it into action. From setting up a youth centre, taking action to improve local mental health services, or supporting more young people into employment – together, they’ll create opportunities for you to make their communities safer, fairer places

About Co-op: Co-op is one of the world’s largest consumer co-operatives with interests across food, funerals, insurance and legal services. Owned by millions of UK consumers, the Co-op operates over 2,500 food stores, over 800 funeral homes and provides products to over 5,000 other stores, including those run by independent co-operative societies and through its wholesale business, Nisa Retail Limited.

Employing almost 60,000 people, the Co-op has an annual turnover of over £11billion and is a recognised leader for its social goals and community-led programmes. The Co-op exists to meet members’ needs and stand up for the things they believe in.

About the Youth Endowment Fund: The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) is a charity with a mission that matters. We’re here to prevent children and young people becoming involved in violence. We do this by finding out what works and building a movement to put this knowledge into practice. We were established in 2019 with a ten-year £200m endowment from the Home Office. www.youthendowmentfund.org.ukFor more information about the Youth Endowment Fund, please contact Matt Shaw, Senior Communications Manager on matthew.shaw@youthendowmentfund.org.uk

#iwill Fund: • The #iwill Fund is made possible thanks to £66 million joint investment from The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support young people to access high quality social action opportunities. • The #iwill Fund brings together a group of organisations who all contribute funding to embed meaningful social action into the lives of young people. • The #iwill Fund supports the aims of the #iwill movement - to make involvement in social action a part of life for young people, by recognising the benefit for both young people and their communities. • By bringing together funders from across different sectors and by making sure that young people have a say in where the funding goes – the #iwill Fund is taking a collaborative approach.

The #iwill movement: · The #iwill movement is a collaboration of over 1000 organisations and 300 young #iwill Ambassadors from across the UK. They are united by a shared belief that all children and young people should be supported and empowered to make a positive difference on the issues that affect their lives, their communities, and broader society. · #iwill was launched in November 2013 after an independent review into how different sectors could help more young people to make a positive difference. · The #iwill movement is supported by an independent coordination hub, hosted by Volunteering Matters & UK Youth. · Take the lead by signing up to the Power of Youth Charter at www.iwill.org.uk or follow us @iwill_movement on twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

The National Lottery Community Fund: We are the largest funder of community activity in the UK – we support people and communities to prosper and thrive.

We’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to work closely with Government to distribute vital grants and funding from key Government programmes and initiatives.

Our funding has a positive impact and makes a difference to people’s lives. We support projects focused on things that matter, including economic prosperity, employment, young people, mental health, loneliness and helping the UK reach net zero by 2050.

Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £43 billion has been raised for good causes. National Lottery funding has been used to support over 635,000 projects - 255 projects per postcode area.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport · General enquiries o Email: enquiries@dcms.gov.uk o 020 7211 6000 · Press Office o Media enquiries (journalists only) 020 7211 2210 o Out of hours telephone pager 07699 751 153.

About The Young Foundation The Young Foundation is the UK’s home for community research and social innovation. As a not-for-profit, we bring communities, organisations and policymakers together, driving positive change to shape a fairer future. Working to understand the issues people care about, The Young Foundation supports collective action to improve lives, involving communities in locally-led research and delivering distinctive initiatives and programmes to build a stronger society. The Young Foundation's Peer Research Network drives quality and innovation in peer research.