Power the Fight – Therapeutic Intervention for Peace

This paper requests approval for the allocation of £140,200 of Violence Reduction Unit funding to implement the findings from Power the Fights Therapeutic Intervention for Peace report.

The VRU funded the Power the Fight research report (Therapeutic Intervention for Peace) in 2019/20 which focused on developing culturally competent therapeutic services for families and peers affected by traumatic loss through youth violence. The VRU originally funded Power the Fight to develop an accessible therapeutic service for families and peers affected by traumatic loss as a result of serious youth violence CEO decision (CEOD 04-2019). As COVID-19 caused school closures and restrictions on face-to-face contact, a further decision was approved (PCD 759) to award Power the Fight £13,293.03, enabling them to adapt the original pilot into a research report.

The report identified gaps in support services for families and peers from minority backgrounds when they lose someone to youth violence and made recommendations for improving the availability and quality of vital support services.

The VRU strategy illustrates the commitment to supporting individuals to be more resilient and commits to working with health partners, professionals and the voluntary sector to reduce the barriers preventing young people accessing mental health services. The request for this approval is to implement the report findings supporting year 1 of a 3-year pilot across three London boroughs – Newham, Lewisham and Greenwich.

The DMPC is recommended to approve the award of grant funding in line with Regulation 4:13 of the Scheme of Delegation: 1. The allocation of £140,200 of VRU 2020/21 core budget for spend in 2021/22 to Power the Fight to implement the Therapeutic Intervention for Peace report findings across three London boroughs – Newham, Lewisham and Greenwich in 2021. 2. Carry forward £140,200 of 2020/21 core budget to spend in 2021/22 for this intervention.

1. Introduction and background

1.1. The VRU strategy illustrates the commitment to supporting individuals to be more resilient and commits to working with health partners, professionals and the voluntary sector to reduce the barriers preventing young people accessing mental health services.

1.2. The VRU originally funded Power the Fight to develop an accessible therapeutic service for families and peers affected by traumatic loss as a result of serious youth violence. The original plan was changed to a research piece due to COVID-19.

1.3. The Power the Fight research report (Therapeutic Intervention for Peace) focused on developing culturally competent therapeutic services for families and peers affected by traumatic loss through youth violence. The report identified gaps in support services for families and peers from minority backgrounds when they lose someone to youth violence and made recommendations for improving the availability and quality of vital support services.

1.4. The recommendations are as follows:

• Cultural Competency training at all system levels and clinical supervision for all front-facing practitioners.

• Multi-layered intervention designs that combine formal, informal and creative therapies with long term engagement and community co-production.

• Collaborative referral management systems and community case mapping for holistic work with young people and families.

• Cohesive and effective partnership work, bringing together families, services, agencies and institutions through culturally competent conduit organisations that have the capacity to connect people and services.

1.5. Power the Fight were funded through the VRU’s contribution to the London Community Response Fund to deliver the TIP model as a pilot project. They are working with Sydenham School in Lewisham until March 2021, with a strong focus on evidence gathering and evaluation. Power the Fight is committed to building a solid foundation to the TIP model in order to ensure it can be replicated sustainably beyond the ongoing pilot in other boroughs.

1.6. The proposal is to scale up the TIP pilot to include additional schools, as well as extending delivery in Sydenham School. Scale-up of the project in Lewisham and Greenwich would involve gathering information and designing interventions with local schools, NHS commissioning groups, councils and third-sector youth service providers.

1.7. The programme will include therapeutic workshops and one to one sessions with young people identified by the different schools as being at highest risk of violence, alongside staff training and reflective practice sessions, and therapeutic workshops for parents. These are likely to be predominantly online until after the summer. Power the Fight aim to engage 100 young people under the VRU funding in the first year.

1.8. In addition, Power The Fight has been invited by Newham Council to partner with them to expand the reach of the Head Start programme across 53 schools in the Borough in 2021, through implementation of the TIP model. Power The Fight’s role within the partnership will be to provide training and support to Head Start staff, school staff and community groups, to work towards whole system change - particularly focused on cultural competency in line with the recommendations of the TIP report. Newham Council have committed £125,704 of funding FY 21-22 for three Power The Fight staff members to work on the TIP pilot in this Borough.

2. Issues for Consideration

2.1. Power The Fight was allocated £50,000 in a previous approved CEO decision (CEOD 04-2019) to develop a co-created, culturally competent and accessible therapeutic service for families and peers affected by traumatic loss as a result of serious youth violence, in partnership with a local school, bereaved families and young people in Lewisham.

2.2. Power The Fight had completed the planning process and were ready to begin interviews and school workshops prior to COVID-19 in 2020. The initial grant period was January to March 2020, extended to April 2020.

2.3. A decision was approved (PCD 759) to award Power The Fight £13,293.03. The allocation was used to adapt plans due to COVID-19 school closures and face to face limitations. Therefore, the original pilot changed into a research piece, further developing an evidence base.

2.4. Power the Fight produced the Therapeutic Interventions for Peace research report published on 22nd September 2020. Following publication, the report was presented and discussed at both the VRUs Partnership Reference Group on the 14th October 2020 and at the Health Board on 24th November 2020. The report received positive feedback whereby partners and the chair of the PRG (The Mayor) asked that partners support this development of the programme, specifically asking the VRU to support this where possible.

2.5. Power The Fight were funded through the VRU’s contribution to the London Community Response Fund to deliver the TIP model as a pilot project. They are working with Sydenham School in Lewisham until March 2021, with a strong focus on evidence gathering and evaluation.

2.6. This decision is proposing the implementation of the TIP model in three London boroughs - Newham, Lewisham and Greenwich in 2021.

2.7. Newham Council and the VRU would be funding year 1 pilot of a potential 3-year pilot. Funding is yet to be confirmed for years 2 & 3, Power the Fight are in preliminary conversations with individual schools, have applied to Comic Relief's Changemakers programme and are in conversation with Newham Council regarding the possibility of extension based on the success of year 1. Outcomes from year 1 would also support further funding from wider stakeholders. VRU funding will support the year 1 development of the project.

3. Financial Comments

3.1. The budget requirement for this work totals £140,200, within one financial year (2021/22). The programme will be funded from within the VRU core budget utilising repurposed funding from 2020/21 core budget.

3.2. The carry-forward into 2021/22 will increase the VRU’s overall 2021/22 expenditure budget by £140,200.

3.3. The total budget for the pilot is £265,904 of which the VRU has committed £140,200

(to deliver across three boroughs – Newham, Lewisham and Greenwich) and Newham Council has committed £125,704 of funding in financial year 2021/22. Newham Councils allocation is towards three Power the Fight staff members to work on the TIP pilot in this Borough.

4. Legal Comments

4.1. Paragraph 4.8 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC) has delegated authority to:

• Approve bids for grant funding made and all offers made of grant funding; and/or where appropriate a strategy for grant giving.

• Approve the strategy for the award of individual grants and/ or the award of all individual grants whether to secure or contribute to securing crime reduction in London or for other purposes.

5. Commercial Issues

5.1. Whilst this is a Single Tender Action and therefore a contract exemption according to the MOPAC Contract Regulations section 3.1 in conjunction with section 8.22 - (See section 4) and in the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation (See Annex 1), the evidence provided to support this award is satisfactory to justify the decision thus:

5.2. The funding will be allocated through a direct grant award process to Power the Fight to implement the recommendations from the original funded Therapeutic Intervention for Peace research report.

5.3. The VRU has considered the possibility of other organisations delivering the pilot, however, with the research and background knowledge Power the Fight have, it places them in a position to successfully deliver and build on a developing evidence base where other organisations would need to be funded to do this initial groundwork once again.

6. Public Health Approach

6.1. London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) is taking a public health approach to violence reduction, that is contextual; looking at the context and influences that impact on individuals at significant points in their life.

6.2. The key areas which are being focussed on as part of this approach are:

• Children and Young People – reducing Adverse Childhood Experiences and building resilience

7. GDPR and Data Privacy

7.1. MOPAC will adhere to the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 and ensure that any organisations who are commissioned to do work with or on behalf of MOPAC are fully compliant with the policy and understand their GDPR responsibilities.

7.2. All contracts and grant agreements will include clear provisions relating to compliance in this area, and in relation to the processing of personal data. These terms have been drafted following consultation with MOPAC’s GDPR Project Manager.

8. Equality Comments

8.1. MOPAC is required to comply with the public sector equality duty set out in section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010. This requires MOPAC to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations by reference to people with protected characteristics. The protected characteristics are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.