Former gang members become mentors in partnership with Dominique
A mother tired of seeing young people falling into knife crime and gangs, has partnered up with ex-gang members now turned mentors to keep young people off the streets, writes Queenie Goredema
Dominique Williams founded Reach and Unite Outreach and Empowerment CIC (RUOE), a community service, in 2018 and officially it launched earlier this year. The service supports young people with social, emotional and mental health needs.
Dominique was inspired to launch the service after she struggled with her own son.
She said: “I started this service due to experiencing some of the difficulties in Wolverhampton when you have a child who has mild needs that escalate due to the lack of early intervention services.
“I really struggled and my son was on the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services’ waiting list for three years before receiving help and by that time he had got to crisis.
“My son showed signs of ADHD from primary school and there was some support but not enough; as a result his education suffered and behaviours escalated.”
Dominique has come across other mothers with similar struggles.
She said: “I have had many conversations with frustrated parents who are not aware of how or who to go to for support with young people.
“I want to change this by holding networking events where we inform parents of how they can access services in Wolverhampton and where they can go to get help.” The service has already established key partnerships including Wolverhampton Council, who have funded some of the service’s activities and SPEED, a business support project at Wolverhampton University.
Former gang member James Gwilt now works as RUOE’s Project Manager using his own experiences to encourage the teens.
James has already made positive changes for many young people in gangs.
He said: “I have been there and done it all in my youth and speak to the young people from a place of experience and understanding. I really empathise and see why so many young people end up in this vicious cycle.
“Using my experience is what makes me different. The majority of teens that live in poverty often don’t respond to a lot of adults as they feel adults don’t understand or come from a completely different life to them, whereas myself and the workers involved have experienced what they have, we have grown up fatherless, we have lived in poverty, we have got into trouble as youths and understand how It feels to be a minority.
“Statistics reveal high numbers of young people in gangs as being fatherless, growing up in poverty and deprived areas and come from minority groups where they experience systematic disadvantages at all levels.”
The service is also currently running a Go Fund Me page to raise money for emergency accommodation for young people at immediate risk of knife crime and gang violence. Visit https://gf.me/u/ys9jgq
