The Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley has funded a series of events bringing together communities in Milton Keynes with a view to making impactful changes for the better. Facilitated by ROC Conversation, and working with Thames Valley Police, the events will see a number of positive outcomes – one of which are community mentors.
At the events residents, statutory agencies, community and faith groups will come together to understand shared concerns around violent crime. They will look at ways of reducing violent crime and how local communities can be involved in supporting young people towards positive pathways.
The aim is to celebrate what communities are already doing and identify new ways to address social needs.
It is then hoped that community mentors, who will be trained up, will work with young people in Milton Keynes for years to come and provide a positive role model.
Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber, said: “We have already held two ROC Conversation events in Milton Keynes which have been very successful. It’s been really encouraging to see people coming together from different parts of the community to find solutions to common problems.
“There will be many positive outcomes from this work, one of which are community mentors. We’d encourage anyone with an interest in making changes for the better in Milton Keynes to attend one of the events next week, where you will also be able to find out more about being a mentor.”
Principal Hazeley Academy, Tony Nelson, said: “I went to the first of these events at Grange Farm - it was really well attended, expertly run and has led to some simple tangible outcomes for Hazeley. In short I would highly recommend that you or one of your team attends one of them. I also took a couple of students who enjoyed and benefited from it.”
Debra Green OBE, Founding Director of national charity Redeeming Our Communities, said: “We’ve hosted more than 200 ROC Conversations across the UK and have always been surprised by the amount of hidden work taking place in the community and amazed at how easily gaps in provision can be met by existing community groups once they become aware of the need.”
Kelly Gardner, Deputy LPA Commander for Milton Keynes Local Policing Area, Thames Valley Police, said: “Thames Valley Police is happy to support the ROC Conversation events across Milton Keynes. Working with communities is at the heart of what we do. We all have a responsibility to work together to encourage inclusivity and build relationships which strengthens our resilience to threats such as crime.”
The next ROC Conversation events will take place on 24th and 25th February between 7pm and 9pm. Anyone with an interest is welcome to attend and more details can be found at:
You can also find out more about the events on this video: https://vimeo.com/386978177.
