Giving kids a helping hand

A weekly sports session which uses sport to give youngsters a foot up in life has been championed after winning a national award.
By The Newsroom
Published 10th Jun 2019, 16:00 BST
Updated 10th Jun 2019, 22:03 BST
The street games project has been backed by Peterlee Town Council, County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, East Durham AAP, the office of the Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner for County Durham and Darlington, Ron Hogg, Street Games and Believe Housing Group.The street games project has been backed by Peterlee Town Council, County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, East Durham AAP, the office of the Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner for County Durham and Darlington, Ron Hogg, Street Games and Believe Housing Group.
The street games project has been backed by Peterlee Town Council, County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, East Durham AAP, the office of the Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner for County Durham and Darlington, Ron Hogg, Street Games and Believe Housing Group.

Peterlee Street Games took home the Outstanding Community Contribution award at the national Street Games Awards in Coventry.

The scheme was launched with the aim of reducing anti-social behaviour and deliberate fire setting in the town by getting young people off the streets and engaging in sport.

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The sessions, which take place every Tuesday in the lower ground car park of Asda, in Castle Dene Shopping Centre, are run in collaboration with Durham Constabulary, County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service and Groundwork NE and Cumbria.

Youngsters have been joining in the weekly games sessions, which have been celebrated with a national award.Youngsters have been joining in the weekly games sessions, which have been celebrated with a national award.
Youngsters have been joining in the weekly games sessions, which have been celebrated with a national award.

Since its launch in February, the teams involved in the project say it has been a huge success, with around 60 young people aged between 10 and 16 attending the sessions every week.

Police Community Support Officer Michelle Burr, from Peterlee Neighbourhood Police Team, said: “We are really proud to be given this award.

“We launched Peterlee Street Games to give young people something constructive to do and get them off the streets.

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“The sessions take place in an area which is well known for anti-social behaviour so it is great to be able to turn a negative into a positive.

“The partners would like to thank McDonalds and Asda for providing refreshments and Castle Dene Shopping Centre for the use of the car park to host the activities.”

Peterlee Street Games is funded by Peterlee Town Council, County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, East Durham AAP, the office of the Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner for County Durham and Darlington, Ron Hogg, Street Games and Believe Housing Group.

Performance lead Joanne Holloway, from Groundwork NE and Cumbria, said: “We at Groundwork NE and Cumbria are absolutely delighted to be in receipt of this award.

“We deliver a lot of youth provision in the area and to see this make such a difference to the young people we work with is inspiring and a credit to all the partners”

Related topics:CoventryASDACumbriaPolice