Help me raise funds to support young people affected by street crime in Brixton

How lucky in life do you feel? That your children are brought up in stable homes, that they are fed, are warm in winter, get to enjoy family holidays and precious time together and most importantly, are educated.

If you haven’t thought about this in a while, then I’d like you to please spare just a few moments to think about just how lucky we all are.

There are plenty of young people that are broken, largely due to the unfortunate circumstances they are born into, through absolutely no fault of their own.

Poverty and lack of education is at the root of it all, and that's what makes it so hard for them to change, because what job are they going to get that's going to bring in a good income? And who is going to help them get on to the employment ladder if they haven’t even got anyone to look out for them?

This month there has been intense media scrutiny over knife crime and the homicide rate. Young people are being shot and stabbed at an alarming rate.

Two years ago, Dwayne Simpson was fatally stabbed when he was trying to keep the peace in an incident that broke out in the Angell Town estate where he lived. He died at just 20 years old.

Before his death, Dwayne was determined to do something to change this after seeing the impact that prison had on young people in terms of emotional and mental breakdowns. Dwayne, like many young people loved boxing and circuit training, and before his death, decided to set up a club to train young people.

About Dwaynamics - a place for keeping young people off the streets in one of London’s most underprivileged housing estates. These young people need to feel as if they have a stake in our society.

Until the last couple of years, there has been no safe space on the Angell Town estate in Brixton for young people to hang out, with nowhere for them to go, and nothing for them to do. Without the safety, fun and stimulation of this gym, these young people are left to find their own entertainment and the lure of gangs and criminality is a real and significant issue. Being a part of Dwaynamics Boxing Gym can be a small step towards a promising future.

Known as Dwaynamics, the club on the Angell Town housing estate in Brixton gives young people something to take pride in, and keeps them out of the clutches of gangs whilst they are instructed by a team of professional Boxers, Police officers and volunteers. The club is reliant on voluntary funding and support and these young people need our help.

I’ve never run the London Marathon in my life, but I’m going to be giving it my absolute all, (and I mean my everything) to try to raise money for something that’s very close to my heart. My children are fortunate in so many ways, as I’m sure yours will be too. Please help me to make a difference to these young people that need it.

You can learn more by hearing Dwayne Simpson’s mother talk to the BBC here: Lorraine Jones spoke to Outlook on the BBC World Service.

Follow `Dwaynamics on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dwaynamics?lang=en

You can follow the Dwayne Simpson foundation on Facebook here: https://m.facebook.com/dwaynamics/?ref=content_filter