Post by QPR Report on Feb 16, 2009 10:07:15 GMT
Ostensibly...
Stoke Sentinel/ Kathie McInnes - Ex-football hooligans tackle gang culture
16 Former Naughty 40 members out to help youngsters
FORMER football hooligans are masterminding a major project to warn teenagers about the dangers of gangs and crime.
The team behind Project Freekick includes ex-members of the notorious Naughty 40 (N40), the crew of Stoke City fans whose violent exploits dominated the 1980s.
Now they have teamed up with both Stoke City and Port Vale to work with young people in North Staffordshire, including 16 to 20-year-olds who are unemployed and have dropped out of education.
The teenagers will follow a programme of activities, featuring talks from ex-criminals, discussions and positive pursuits such as football coaching and DJing.
Some sessions could also be adapted for use in schools.
Former gang members Mark Chester, Phil Allcock and Garry Porter are leading the project and have already won support from the Government.
Through their company, Affirm Initiative CIC, they hope to get other football clubs on board and take their ideas nationwide.
The reformed hooligans gave their first presentation on Saturday, when they spoke to young offenders at an attendance centre in Hanley, run by the Ministry of Justice.
Mark said: "There are five of us working on this project. Between us, we've got 160 years of experience in gang culture.
"The project is all about tackling anti-social behaviour, gang culture and things like knife crime."
The 45-year-old, who grew up in Alsager and now lives in Lancashire, remembers the draw of being in a gang.
He said: "We thought we were respecting the name of Stoke City Football Club. We were defending the ground from other gangs."
The N40's operations grew beyond match fights to include international drug smuggling. Mark himself was convicted of violent offences eight times.
He said: "The low point came when I got off the carousel and had to go into the world on my own, with no friends outside the culture and no qualifications."
Mark and Phil came up with the idea for Project Freekick following a spate of gang-related deaths around Britain.
Phil, aged 48, from Meir, said: "We were as concerned as anybody about it. I believe the way to tackle gang culture is through giving kids the facts.
"A lot of kids think it gives you some sort of status. There's also peer pressure. We want to demystify things.
"The presentations will include DVDs and discuss issues around gang culture like drugs and alcohol.
"I wasn't in the N40, but was involved in the whole culture. All I lived for was to get to the match, be with my mates, have a day out. Anything else was a bonus.
"It was almost a free-for-all at every ground in those days. It was mob rule."
Phil's brush with gang life led him to the verge of a nervous breakdown. He knows others whose lives spiralled into failed marriages, addiction and even suicide. Garry, aged 40, from Kidsgrove, said: "My life was very much football-driven. I stole and defrauded to go to the match."
He served prison time and regrets the pain it caused others.
Garry said Project Freekick is about "giving something back to the kids" so they don't follow the same path.
Carmen Davies, who runs the attendance centre in Hanley, works with young offenders as part of their sentences. She said: "The presentation had a powerful effect on them."
www.whydelilah.co.uk/news/16_Feb_2009/Ex-football+hooligans+tackle+gang+culture+%28+AUDIO%29.html
Stoke Sentinel/ Kathie McInnes - Ex-football hooligans tackle gang culture
16 Former Naughty 40 members out to help youngsters
FORMER football hooligans are masterminding a major project to warn teenagers about the dangers of gangs and crime.
The team behind Project Freekick includes ex-members of the notorious Naughty 40 (N40), the crew of Stoke City fans whose violent exploits dominated the 1980s.
Now they have teamed up with both Stoke City and Port Vale to work with young people in North Staffordshire, including 16 to 20-year-olds who are unemployed and have dropped out of education.
The teenagers will follow a programme of activities, featuring talks from ex-criminals, discussions and positive pursuits such as football coaching and DJing.
Some sessions could also be adapted for use in schools.
Former gang members Mark Chester, Phil Allcock and Garry Porter are leading the project and have already won support from the Government.
Through their company, Affirm Initiative CIC, they hope to get other football clubs on board and take their ideas nationwide.
The reformed hooligans gave their first presentation on Saturday, when they spoke to young offenders at an attendance centre in Hanley, run by the Ministry of Justice.
Mark said: "There are five of us working on this project. Between us, we've got 160 years of experience in gang culture.
"The project is all about tackling anti-social behaviour, gang culture and things like knife crime."
The 45-year-old, who grew up in Alsager and now lives in Lancashire, remembers the draw of being in a gang.
He said: "We thought we were respecting the name of Stoke City Football Club. We were defending the ground from other gangs."
The N40's operations grew beyond match fights to include international drug smuggling. Mark himself was convicted of violent offences eight times.
He said: "The low point came when I got off the carousel and had to go into the world on my own, with no friends outside the culture and no qualifications."
Mark and Phil came up with the idea for Project Freekick following a spate of gang-related deaths around Britain.
Phil, aged 48, from Meir, said: "We were as concerned as anybody about it. I believe the way to tackle gang culture is through giving kids the facts.
"A lot of kids think it gives you some sort of status. There's also peer pressure. We want to demystify things.
"The presentations will include DVDs and discuss issues around gang culture like drugs and alcohol.
"I wasn't in the N40, but was involved in the whole culture. All I lived for was to get to the match, be with my mates, have a day out. Anything else was a bonus.
"It was almost a free-for-all at every ground in those days. It was mob rule."
Phil's brush with gang life led him to the verge of a nervous breakdown. He knows others whose lives spiralled into failed marriages, addiction and even suicide. Garry, aged 40, from Kidsgrove, said: "My life was very much football-driven. I stole and defrauded to go to the match."
He served prison time and regrets the pain it caused others.
Garry said Project Freekick is about "giving something back to the kids" so they don't follow the same path.
Carmen Davies, who runs the attendance centre in Hanley, works with young offenders as part of their sentences. She said: "The presentation had a powerful effect on them."
www.whydelilah.co.uk/news/16_Feb_2009/Ex-football+hooligans+tackle+gang+culture+%28+AUDIO%29.html