Working together to tackle antisocial behaviour and increase the Respect Effect 

Thirteen are delighted to have worked alongside a local charity to highlight the problem of antisocial behaviour and the negative impact it has on communities.  

Iron Guidance is a local charity that provides activities and support to families in Teesside throughout the year, with a focus on school holidays. They work with young people, providing a range of workshops and projects.  

The Respect Effect project, delivered by Iron Guidance and supported by Thirteen and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland, was delivered over an eight-week period and aimed to work alongside young people to encourage them to think about how antisocial behaviour impacts on a range of people, and to inspire the young people to pledge to make a positive impact on their community.  

Fourteen young people from the Thornaby area attended the project and took part in a range of technology, art and music-based workshops, all designed with a focus on learning about the impact of antisocial behaviour.   

The young people were visited by a local Councillor, Cleveland Police and St John’s Ambulance as part of the project too.  

At the end of the eight-week period the young people had pledged to be kind to their neighbours, report bad behaviour to an adult or the police and to walk away from things they know are wrong.  

A celebration event was held at the end of the project for the young people to recognise their achievements.  

Jane Hobbs, community resilience manager at Thirteen said: “We were so pleased to support the Respect Effect project by delivering a workshop to the young people and by helping to provide funding, with thanks to our partner T. Manners for their monetary donation as part of their social value promise. We designed a workshop to highlight the impact that noise and litter can make on communities and asked the young people to think about their pledges.

“We wanted to support Iron Guidance with this project in Thornaby to help our customers and communities who are impacted by antisocial behaviour. We also wanted to support our partners who often have to respond to increased reports of crime and antisocial behaviour in the area. Engaging with the young people through this project is a great way to get them to appreciate their actions affect others and for them to pledge what they will do differently. We really enjoyed being part of the project and seeing the difference it made to the young people.” 

Vikki Cameron-Hall, chief executive officer at Iron Guidance said: “We’ve had great feedback from the parents and guardians of the young people who took part in this project. They’ve told us their children are more respectful, understanding of their surroundings and that they had lots of fun. 

“We’d like to say a big thank you to Thirteen and The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland for helping to make this project possible.” 

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland (OPCC) part-funded the project with a £2,500 grant from its autumn antisocial behaviour fund. 

Cleveland PCC Steve Turner said: “This project targeted those young people most at risk of being drawn into ASB. 

“I think it’s important that any project tackling ASB challenges young people to think about the risks and the impact of ASB on the whole community – and not just to themselves and their life chances.”