At Young Westminster Foundation, we are committed to working with communities, young people and local partners to prevent serious youth violence and create safer futures for young people.
Shared Ground Programme
The Shared Ground Programme is a new pilot initiative bringing together partners across Westminster, Camden and Brent to tackle the root causes of serious youth violence and promote youth safety in communities that cross borough boundaries.
Funded primarily by John Lyon’s Charity, with match funding from Westminster City Council, Camden Council and Brent Council, Shared Ground focuses on Queen’s Park and Kilburn, recognising that the challenges and opportunities facing young people do not stop at borough borders.
As part of the programme, grants are available to support innovative cross-borough partnerships that create new ways of working and deliver meaningful support for young people aged 11-25.
Shared Ground takes a place-based approach built around three key themes:
Prevention
Creating positive opportunities for young people through youth engagement, mentoring and diversionary activities. Helping to reduce exposure to risk factors and building protective networks.
Intervention
Providing targeted support for young people who may be at greater risk of involvement in serious youth violence through support built on trusted relationships delivered by local voluntary and community organisations.
Systems Change
Strengthening collaboration between organisations, agencies and communities across borough boundaries to improve coordination, share learning and develop more effective responses to serious youth violence.
Find Out More
To learn more about the Shared Ground Programme visit the Young Camden Foundation Shared Ground website page.
Helping Hands Programme
The Shared Ground Programme builds on the learning, relationships and community leadership developed through the Helping Hands Programme.
Working alongside local residents, practitioners, community leaders and partner organisations, Helping Hands successfully built trust and strengthened collaboration across communities. The programme created safe spaces for open conversations about the impact of violence and explored practical ways to prevent harm and improve outcomes for young people.
The programme enabled community voices to share their views about the direct and indirect impact of youth violence, and how they think the impact can be addressed. Local partners helped YWF to ensure that the programme was rooted in the community and flexible to complement work already taking place locally. Listening work informed the programme, the priorities of the Fund, and helped to shape strategies to enable more systemic change in the local landscape.
Alongside its community engagement and capacity-building work, Helping Hands supported a community funding programme that enabled local organisations to deliver projects designed to create positive pathways for young people and strengthen protective networks within neighbourhoods.
The most recent Helping Hands Community Fund grants were awarded in February 2026, benefiting 16 local organisations. These projects are supporting young people through activities including:
- Employability and skills development
- Creative arts programmes
- Sport and physical activities
- Education around the risks and realities of crime
- Awareness of child financial exploitation and county lines
- Violence prevention initiatives
- Family engagement and support
Read out more at our Helping Hands Community Fund news page.
