Yep Enfield

The Youth Engagement Panel (YEP) is a voluntary youth organisation / charity that were set up in 2008 in response to the spate of youth violence and in particular the murders that took place in and around Edmonton. The idea of the YEP was to commission young volunteers, passionate for change who have faced very real and sometimes difficult issues as a result of living up close and personal with the local street culture. When the YEP began, 15 young people aged between 17-25 were recruited as volunteers and trained up in Youth Work as well as in other areas such as sexual health, drugs, conflict resolution, weapons awareness and facilitation. The aim of the YEP is to engage with all young people who feel they are unable to talk to their elders or the police or any other person they see as being in authority regarding all issues which affect our youth, such as crime, drug abuse, bullying, conflict, weapons awareness, unemployment, gangs, sexual health etc, all of which are having negative effects on young people as well as our wider communities. The job of the YEP is to facilitate, support, listen and provide sound information and advice or signpost them to the correct organisation for further help with whatever issues they have, should they need to. At the moment, the YEP have grown into a huge organisation with many different strands to the project. The YEP are now mentoring and buddying young people from schools and pupil referral units, delivering workshops to primary and secondary schools on topics such as Gangs, Weapons, Sexual Bullying and conflict, running accredited Music courses (Arts Awards), school drop-ins, after school patrols as well as assisting with Gold meetings, Event Days, Scrutiny panels and I.A.G meetings.