In This Together Bucks: Supporting young people at risk of offending through mentoring and long-term engagement

Fund and priority area: Community Fund

Who: In This Together Bucks CIC (ITTB) was established in 2021 to provide educational workshops, mentoring, and support services to at-risk youth in Buckinghamshire, aiming to reduce knife crime and promote community safety.

What:  

In 2024, the Rothschild Foundation awarded In This Together a one-year grant. A year later, in recognition of its emerging track record and first full set of annual accounts, the organisation was offered a multi-year grant. 

Born out of lived experience of the devastating impact of knife crime, ITTB responds to a clear need in Aylesbury, where crime rates and levels of deprivation are higher than the Bucks average. The organisation’s strength lies in its ability to reach young people who are often beyond the reach of other services. Their combination of lived experience, strong community connections across Aylesbury, and professional experience in mental health nursing and teaching, enable them to build trust with extremely high-risk young people who have had little or no professional support, particularly those aged 15–21, who are at the highest risk of offending or re-offending. 

Over their one-year grant in early 2025 ITTB delivered: 

• One-to-one mentoring for 25 young people aged 15–24. Their 6-week tailored mentoring programmes focuses on developing Emotional Coping Skills (ECS), as many of the young people they support have undiagnosed mental health issues and/or trauma. Topics covered include confidence building, peer pressure, stress management, and decision-making. Participants are referred by local schools, Thames Valley Police, youth offending teams, and community members. 

• Four targeted educational workshops, attended by a total of 38 young people. Exploring the effects of drugs, the realities and consequences of criminal involvement, the impact of knife crime, and the importance of mental health awareness. 

“I was proper lost before coming to in this together, just doing stupid things and not caring where I’d end up. No one was really guiding me. Since getting involved in mentoring, everything’s different. I’ve got someone checking me, pushing me, and actually believing in me. It’s kept me out of trouble and now i’m going to college everyday, when I finish college they are going to help me get an apprenticeship. It’s made me think about my future properly. I’ve started moving differently now. if I didn’t have this support, I’d probably still be smoking weed and selling drugs.”  Young person who participated in the mentoring programme 

“In This Together Bucks CIC has delivered countless hours towards reducing violence, knife crime, and gang related activity within the community. They have become trusted mentors to vulnerable young people at risk of criminal involvement, and their compassionate approach has encouraged many to surrender weapons and choose safer, more positive paths. Afzaal is a true pillar of the community. He exemplifies what it means to serve with heart, purpose, and integrity, and I can think of no one more deserving of this award” – Chief Constable Jason Hogg, who presented Afzaal with the Community Volunteer of the Year Award. 

Learning  

A growing number of young people engaged experienced mental health challenges. Many shared that they had never previously been given the opportunity to speak openly about these issues in a safe and supportive setting. This highlighted the importance of working with community partners to create accessible spaces where young people feel heard, understood, and encouraged to seek help. In their first year of funding, ITTB established an office in the community for drop-in sessions. 

Several months after completing mentoring, young people are able to attend drop-in sessions where they can meet with mentors, review progress, and receive extra support if needed. This ensures continuity and helps prevent young people from slipping back into negative behaviours.  

As a funder we want to support organisations to develop to address the needs of the community and encourage organisations to explore their approach with support from the Community Fund. Testing and learning from an idea, while capturing evidence of its outcomes, can help funders see the value of your approach and support future funding applications. This is what ITTB demonstrated when a one-year grant in 2024 led to a multi-year investment in 2025.