SW!TCH Communities

Building a lasting community response to Serious Youth Violence.

Is mentoring the new political football?

Here at LifeLine, we have been working closely with the Mayor of London to mentor young people across the capital for the last 15 years. And, while the holder of the title has changed, we are pleased to see that this commitment to mentoring has remained broadly consistent throughout. Now, more than ever, we hope that the power of mentoring...

3 weeks ago

by Nathan Singleton

Absenteeism: the legacy of lockdown

Educational neglect. Emotional-based schools avoidance. School refusal. Non-attending. Persistent absence. Serious absence. Missing. It's often said that the Inuit have dozens (or more) different words for snow, because they have a lot of it. We, however, seem to have a lot of different names for those repeatedly absent from school. What then does that say about the state of school...

2 months ago

by Nathan Singleton

We want to double down and provide more support in London

Last month, I shared some thoughts I had whilst on sabbatical. I hope you didn't mind the excessive sharing or personal photos. I expected that, on my sabbatical, I might reconsider LifeLine's vision, mission, and activities. I thought visiting other charity leaders would inspire me with new ideas that I would be raring to apply to East London. I was...

6 months ago

by Nathan Singleton

Celebrating SW!TCH on TikTok and in the sunday papers

Bursting onto TikTok Our SW!TCH team have recently started posting on TikTok, rapidly growing their following of young people to over 300 in a few months. As well as promoting upcoming activities, the team are able to provide a wider range of content for young people than in their face-to-face mentoring sessions–for example, key youth workers introduce themselves and share...

9 months ago

by LifeLine Comms Team

Supporting adults, families, and communities

Our new Family Services team have been hard at work this year, delivering a range of programmes to adults, families, and communities across East London.The Champions Support Network, which brings parents and carers together to form community support networks, particularly dealing with youth violence, exclusion and mental health. We run coffee mornings to forge connections plus workshops and training to...

11 months ago

by LifeLine Comms Team

Team Spotlights

Introducing Tilishia, Head of Family Services

This month, we're delighted to speak with Tilishia, who joined us in May to manage our newly-formed Family Services team. You can Hackney. Been there all my life; my grandparents lived in Islington, mostly all in north London. Did you come from a big family? Oh, they taught me a lot. That we stick together and support each other through...

11 months ago

by Tilishia Green

Local needs require local solutions

I have a friend that works in the music industry as a tour manager. He's worked on some of the most extravagant rock shows I've ever seen. I once asked him if he got bored of touring, putting on the same show every night for months on end. He told me that, even though if it was the same artist...

1 year ago

by Nathan Singleton

Team Spotlights

Introducing Stephen Callender, Youth Development Worker and Parent Champion Coordinator

This month, we're speaking with Stephen, who joined LifeLine in 2020 and now works on a range of our programmes in the Havering area, offering support to both young people and parents. Where did you grow up? I came over for a visit in 2000. The first thing I fell in love with was the cold. Back home, its blazing...

1 year ago

by LifeLine Comms Team

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