What are we trying to achieve
Moss Side is a very diverse area, culturally with many social and economic conditions that are unique to this area( John if you can provide data from ward profile) these factors have produced a youth culture where gang involvement and crime is a real alternative for many young people, this is widely recognised by many of the local community leaders who are working ti
relessly to engage with these young disaffected people to show them that there are alternatives and to put schemes in place that will help distract them from going down that particular road, these groups such as Mothers against guns, Charisma, Reclaim, The Power House, local church groups and many others have an intimate knowledge of the problems that are faced by young people in Moss Side and are looking for long term meaningful activities that engage and educate them with the aim of showing them alternatives and distracting them from the negative pathways they may encounter. We as an organisation are no different we experience a negative attitude from some of these young people and recognise that much of the work we have to do is a direct result of the actions taken by young disillusioned people with low expectations for what life has to offer. The initiative we have started is a response to these problems we intend to form partnerships with these community groups to meaningful engage with young people on a personal level that they can recognise as a long term commitment to them and the community, we intend to be role models whilst representing the organisation, the initiative is at the fire station coaches are fire-fighters and the environment the train in will portray that, we will work with local community leaders and local initiatives to identify the youngsters who we can help and the problems that they are encountering and we will educate and inform not only on the issues we as an organisation find important but also on the issues that the are community partners are focusing on to assist in the formation of future positive citizens. Why Boxing
Boxing as a sport mirrors the personal attributes we as an organisation value in our fire-fighters, both require courage, discipline, dedication, focus and respect for others. Both are considered dangerous yet the truth is that by recognising this both put in place safe guards and safety measures that ensure they are safer than many occupations or pastimes that are considered as perfectly safe. It is a sport that any one can participate in regardless of race, creed, and gender, social or economic status. Having the latest most expensive equipment does not give you the edge, the club provides everything so even the most economically deprived are not excluded. Boxing is a sport that Moss Side Fire station is in a unique position to offer the community, because leisure centres are under pressure to ensure that there facilities are multi functional and offer flexible use, boxing gyms by there nature are inflexible, they can only be used for boxing, we at Moss Side have converted a disused garage into a permanent purpose built facility. Moss Sides youth face problems that are unique to them, territorial constrains, gang membership from an early age, fear of mistaken identity and subsequent reprisals which can in the worst case prove to be fatal. We as an organisation intend to extend our influence into these groups and boxing we believe is the best way of doing this. By having the gym on the fire station, the coaches Nigel Travis, Curtis McLardie and Mike Dillon are all serving fire-fighters in the Moss Side community, we believe we can have an influence on these young people, boxing has a certain kudos, it increases self esteem, and it can increase the respect that an individual gets from their peer group, if these young people have an influence in a gang or group situation and they have an affinity to the fire service then we are in a win win situation where we can help to form citizens of the future whilst having ambassadors for the fire service on the streets of Moss Side. Conclusion
Name a social deprived area in Britain and you can identify a national, international, Olympic or world champion boxer from that area I find it incredible that Moss Side at this moment does not have a single competing amateur boxer, boxing clubs in areas like this attain iconic status and I believe in a few years when we have national champions Moss Side Fire Station will be known for things other than providing fire and rescue cover
