Campaign by 
Story
Rising Challenges across minority communities
It is well known that BAME people face higher levels of inequality/exclusion and experience increased socio-economic disadvantage.
It is a sad truth, that in the 21st century, discrimination and racial/religious inequality still presents a huge challenge for BAME people, which make up 40% of London’s population (Diversity UK)! In a recent report by Partnership for Young London it was found that 45.2% (just under half) of young Londoners experienced discrimination or inequality, highlighting a huge social issue that must be addressed in modern society.
We operate within minority communities in North London, whose young women are excluded from the majority of local and national provisions. This translates into limited, accessible opportunities for the young women we support, which coupled with overcrowding, language barriers and pre-existing poverty & inequality, has resulted in historically high levels of deprivation and disadvantage, something which has been exasperated by the Pandemic (which has had a disproportionate effect on minority communities).
Our beneficiaries
Teen Action provides support to young women from minority communities, based in north Hackney and south Haringey, in areas that rank within the lowest third on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation.
In excess of 90% of Teen Action beneficiaries’ homes are in receipt of Tax credits/universal credits, highlighting the extent of poverty and deprivation within the community. Young people constantly deal with challenges such as poverty, lack of opportunities, overcrowding, poor employment and exclusion amongst others. A Holman survey of this community showed high levels of deprivation, such as, “56% of respondents could not afford at least two items defined as ‘essential’” and “Half of all families cannot afford for their children to have a holiday.”
Our vision
Our vision is a world in which all young people have equal opportunities, regardless of their ethnicity, abilities, socio-economic circumstances, or individual needs; and ease of transition to adulthood, employment, and independent living.
What we do
To this end, Teen Action provides accessible youth provisions for young women aged 15-19 years from disadvantaged minority communities, providing positive, accessible opportunities and supporting them to upskill towards employment, so as to empower the future generations of minoritised women and reduce deprivation and inequality.
Daily, we provide a range of programs, courses and support in line with 4 key areas (R.E.A.C.H):
- Recreation
- Education
- Arts
- Career Guidance
- Health & Wellness
All programs are accessible, conform to relevant quality standards and are designed by users to enhance engagement and productivity.
Programs include career support, work placements and in-employment support for first-time employees, an independent living & financial literacy program, a range of accredited & vocational IT programs, a variety of art/craft courses, education (GCSE) support groups, post-18 accredited study programs, vocational training, bi-annual retreats, soft skills development programs, creative summer scheme, sporting opportunities, and mentoring.
Teen Action takes a holistic approach, supporting excluded and disadvantaged young women with their emotional, social, intellectual and cognitive abilities and upskilling them towards employment - easing historically high levels of poverty, inequality and social deprivation within minority communities.
Our Track Record
We closely monitor each provision, and our delivery as a whole, using the Triple F approach, which measures outcomes and outputs effectively.
For the 2023 year, these were our core outcomes:
(a) Improved wellbeing (85% median across all provisions)
(b) Increased confidence (95% median across all provisions)
(c) Increased attainment (90% median across all provisions)
(d) Increased employment rates (82% median across all provisions)
(e) New skills (92% median across all provisions)
(f) Increased creativity (70% median across all provisions)
We've been awarded a Gold Level London Youth Quality Mark, a quality assurance scheme, accredited by City and Guilds in recognition of our commitment to excellence. This has improved the way our organisation runs, our monitoring, provision for young people, organisational structure, project delivery and assessment, and ensures all projects run under relevant quality standards. We've also been awarded the 2020 London Faith and Belief Community Award under the category of ‘supporting women’.
To date, we have supported 1690 young women over 18 years of operation!
Future plans
Teen Action have been commissioned by Propel, with funding from The City Bridge Trust, to explore structural/systemic inequality faced by our marginalised community.
We're coming to the end of a year's research which is clearly showing inequality in education access, most notably further education and higher education beyond Level 3. This is a key factor for low-level employment and poverty in the community.
City Bridge Trust and the Propel collaboration will be working with us over the next decade to address some of the underlying causes of this, ensuring that all have access to quality education. We aim to work with the DfE, policymakers and national college bodies to ensure that every young woman is able to pursue education, as this is something that should be a birthright and not a privilege! We'll be addressing access barriers including religious requirements, finances, caring/childminding responsibilities, digital exclusion and more.
In the interim, we'll continue delivering our variety of programs, ensuring the young women in our community always have a safe space to access and opportunities for learning, mentoring and personal development.
How your donation will affect change
Our full operating budget for the forthcoming year (ending 31 January 2025) is £415,000.
We have secured grants, contracts and donations of £274,840 to cover costs over the forthcoming year.
Our shortfall amounts to £140,160, of which more than half is for core costs, which is difficult to secure funding for, but essential for the continuity of our charity and the delivery of our grant-funded programs.
We are hoping to raise £10,000 (£10,000 from employee donations, and the rest to be matched by the company) to cover project and core running costs.