Phew! The Notting Hill CarnIval went off without a hitch..( with the exception of one nasty stabbing) All things considered, that has to be a great victory for community spirit over violent mayhem.
The mayor and his team took a bit of a massive calculated risk..but it paid off! So many issues need to be addressed to respond to the challenges of underachieving, undereducated, under loved, under financed, under guided young kids, who in turn become boundlessly problematic, violent, anti social, drug/ alchohol dependent, and ultimately criminal young adults.
The thing is to identify what actually works in terms of practical intervention, and to find out how best to carry those steps out. We have to give more support to organisations like "Kids Company" who really know the score from the ground level. We have to listen and learn from people like them, and parents kids themselves, rather than just locking young offenders up, and throwing away the key. They need to be shown better choices and alternatives in life.
Far easier said than done I know ( coals to Newcastle) with regard to exhausted social services, who constantly have to pick up the debris of chaos though inherited dysfunction.
We need a major rethink, and we need to harbour the goodwill of entire communities who need to "own" their patches in a far more connected and positive way. If people started to really get engaged with their own neighbourhoods, it would be a great start.
