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Lifeline on the streets

Christians in Salford issue challenge to Church to help struggling families

A leading urban mission project has called on churches to care for the parents of what a police chief recently described as “feral youths” who terrorise communities up and down the country.

Chief Superintendent David Baines, of Greater Manchester police, spoke out against young people running wild without fear of the consequences. His comments came after a man was critically injured when confronting youths in an alley behind his home in Salford.

Chief Superintendent Baines said such incidents often stemmed from youths hanging around on street corners being abusive and causing trouble.

“They then go on to damage property,” he said, “or, as we have seen with Mr Carroll, to commit a very vicious and unprovoked assault. They are feral, have no parental control or respect for anybody and are often fuelled by alcohol. They don’t give a damn about the police or the criminal justice system.”

He warned that such problems were prevalent across the country. “Today it is Salford but tomorrow it will be somewhere else.”

The Message Trust has been involved in youth projects in Manchester for several years, and said it was concerned at the impact of David Baines’ statement on its work. The Trust runs Eden projects in the city, which see people move into disadvantaged areas to continue social action and mission work.

Matt Wilson, responsible for the projects, said: “We have had two Eden projects in Salford for some time. The attack, of course, is terrible but it is the sort of thing that happens everywhere. We work closely with David Baines and his comments were unfortunate in that they perpetrate an image of Salford that is bleak and hopeless. Our concern is that what he said has caused a fall-out in terms of relationship between people concerned to do the best they can for the area.”
Matt, and the rest of The Message team, are only too aware of the area’s social problems but insist that it is not all bad news.

“Yes, there are kids hanging around on street corners and sometimes it can seem very intimidating but our local team leader has lived in the area for five years, and he says it hasn’t got worse. Maybe people have just become more aware of the situation and believe it’s time to change the way we look at how to deal with disaffected young people.”

The Message Trust has further committed itself to Salford with the launch of The Big Deal initiative which sees the area’s churches link up to work on 50 “projects of kindness” across the city.

“It’s a whole year of sustained involvement in Salford, enabling churches to get connected to local democratic processes and make a difference. A team of youth workers will also take The Big Deal into every high school in Salford. A programme designed to challenge young people about issues of citizenship has been created especially for RE departments. This includes a stage production which presents The Big Deal of the Christian faith in an inspiring way. And when it is all over, the work goes on.”

But will the Church take up one of the main challenges?

“It’s very easy to paint a picture of the home lives of many of these kids on the streets that just isn’t true. We must be careful not to make assumptions. If we have cause to go to the homes of young people who might have been involved in trouble, more often than not they have two parents who are simply struggling to bring up teenagers in today’s society.

"They haven’t been taught how to care for their kids in adolescence, and they’re looking for help. We’re happy to work with the teens themselves but the challenge is for the Church to work with the parents. They are struggling, where else can they turn?”

What do you think? Mail us your views to info@cfnetwork.co.uk

© Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.


		REAL ISSUES Lifeline on the streets Christians in Salford issue challenge to Church to help struggling families A leading urban mission project has called on churches to care for the parents of what a police chief recently described as “feral youths” who terrorise communities up and down the country. Chief Superintendent David Baines, of Greater Manchester police, spoke out against young people running wild without fear of the consequences. His comments came after a man was critically injured when confronting youths in an alley behind his home in Salford. Chief Superintendent Baines said such incidents often stemmed from youths hanging around on street corners being abusive and causing trouble. “They then go on to damage property,” he said, “or, as we have seen with Mr Carroll, to commit a very vicious and unprovoked assault. They are feral, have no parental control or respect for anybody and are often fuelled by alcohol. They don’t give a damn about the police or the criminal justice system.” He warned that such problems were prevalent across the country. “Today it is Salford but tomorrow it will be somewhere else.” The Message Trust has been involved in youth projects in Manchester for several years, and said it was concerned at the impact of David Baines’ statement on its work. The Trust runs Eden projects in the city, which see people move into disadvantaged areas to continue social action and mission work. Matt Wilson, responsible for the projects, said: “We have had two Eden projects in Salford for some time. The attack, of course, is terrible but it is the sort of thing that happens everywhere. We work closely with David Baines and his comments were unfortunate in that they perpetrate an image of Salford that is bleak and hopeless. Our concern is that what he said has caused a fall-out in terms of relationship between people concerned to do the best they can for the area.” Matt, and the rest of The Message team, are only too aware of the area’s social problems but insist that it is not all bad news. “Yes, there are kids hanging around on street corners and sometimes it can seem very intimidating but our local team leader has lived in the area for five years, and he says it hasn’t got worse. Maybe people have just become more aware of the situation and believe it’s time to change the way we look at how to deal with disaffected young people.” The Message Trust has further committed itself to Salford with the launch of The Big Deal initiative which sees the area’s churches link up to work on 50 “projects of kindness” across the city. “It’s a whole year of sustained involvement in Salford, enabling churches to get connected to local democratic processes and make a difference. A team of youth workers will also take The Big Deal into every high school in Salford. A programme designed to challenge young people about issues of citizenship has been created especially for RE departments. This includes a stage production which presents The Big Deal of the Christian faith in an inspiring way. And when it is all over, the work goes on.” But will the Church take up one of the main challenges? “It’s very easy to paint a picture of the home lives of many of these kids on the streets that just isn’t true. We must be careful not to make assumptions. If we have cause to go to the homes of young people who might have been involved in trouble, more often than not they have two parents who are simply struggling to bring up teenagers in today’s society. "They haven’t been taught how to care for their kids in adolescence, and they’re looking for help. We’re happy to work with the teens themselves but the challenge is for the Church to work with the parents. They are struggling, where else can they turn?” What do you think? Mail us your views to info@cfnetwork.co.uk © Christian Family Network is run by CPO, supported by Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting, Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.