The ‘National Alliance of Sport For the Desistance of Crime’ (NASDC) recently featured Sport 4 Life by producing a news article covering all aspects of Sport 4 Life’s work including the need, history of the organisation, how sport is used, programmes, impact and case studies. NASDC is underpinned by a single belief – that the power of sport is one of the most effective tools at engaging and supporting the most challenging and complex people in society. With over 300 members, its purpose is to work strategically with key stakeholders and provide leadership, coordination and evidence for sport in the desistance of crime.

Sport 4 Life offer lifeline to Birmingham’s disillusioned youth

• An astonishing 37% of children in Birmingham live in poverty – 100,000 in total. 
• 40% of the city’s population live in the top 10% most deprived areas of the UK. 
• Children growing up in deprived circumstances are far less likely to achieve five GCSEs at A-C (only 33% do so in Birmingham) 
• Birmingham has the highest youth unemployment of the UK’s core cities (8.9% – double the UK average) 

It’s statistics like these that starkly outline the importance of Sport4Life’s work. Using sport as an engagement tool, their programmes develop the confidence, life skills and employability of at-risk young people, many of whom have been through the criminal justice system. 

Sport 4 Life was founded in 2006 by Tom Clarke-Forrest, combining his passions for sport, young people and his home city of Birmingham. Initially it consisted of participatory activities designed to simply divert young people away from anti-social behaviour. In 2010 the strategy widened to achieving the ‘hard outcome’ of employability. 

You can read the full article here: http://www.nasdc.org/news/sport4life-offer-lifeline-to-birminghams-disillusioned-youth/