As part of Knife Crime Awareness Week 2025 (19-25 May), the West Ham United Foundation is highlighting its ongoing commitment to supporting young people affected by violence across Newham and Barking & Dagenham.
Both boroughs are home to large, young, vibrant and diverse populations, but also face some of the highest levels of deprivation and youth violence in the capital. For many young people, particularly those outside of mainstream education, the barriers to positive futures are significant, but together we are working to change that.
As a trusted grassroots organisation embedded in east London, the Foundation has built strong partnerships across sectors to help deliver long-term solutions. Collaborating with local councils, NHS Trusts, GPs, the Metropolitan Police Service and other key partners, the Foundation uses a data-led, place-based approach to identify risk and provide targeted interventions.
From sport-based programmes to health and education initiatives, our strategy recognises that violence is a symptom of wider social inequality and that change requires coordinated, community-led action.
MyEnds
The Foundation leads the MyEnds consortium in Barking & Dagenham, funded by the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit. The project focuses on four key areas: youth engagement, mentoring, community cohesion, and micro-grants to grassroots groups. Operating six days a week, it has already supported more than 500 children and young people.
As part of Knife Crime Awareness Week, the Foundation also collaborated with Barking and Dagenham Council and the local Community Safety Partnership to host a football tournament at the Bobby Moore Sports Hub in Dagenham. Year 10 students from eight schools took part in the event, which featured powerful guest speakers and celebrated participation with medals, meals and a trophy for the winning team. The event showcased how sport, conversation and community role models can come together to offer young people positive alternatives and help prevent violence before it starts.