Safe

In overcrowded, violent prisons, showing emotion can be seen as weakness. Creativity can become a lifeline.

Lady Unchained explores how creative writing can give prisoners a way to express what they cannot say out loud. Drawing on her own time in custody, she explains how discovering poetry gave her hope for a better future. 

She shares the journey of her award-winning hit show, Free Flow, on National Prison Radio, and how it is helping prisoners across the UK prison population to find their voice, reflect on their actions and redefine their futures. 

Links and Resources

• Unchained 
• Behind Bars: On punishment, prison & release by Lady Unchained 
• National Prison Radio 
• National Literacy Trust | New Chapters 

The Youth Endowment Fund believes that no child should be affected by violence.  

We research violence to understand it; we find, fund and test what works to prevent it; and we are building a movement to end it.  

To find out more, visit our website

Follow us on Instagram: @youthendowfund 

Tell us what you think of Safe by completing this short survey

Host: Ciaran Thapar, Youth Endowment Fund 

Series Producer: Meera Kumar 

How can we prevent violence before it happens? 

Grace Strong, who helped set up and leads the Violence Reduction Network for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, has spent her career working with communities affected by crime. She discusses how addressing the issues behind offending — trauma, abuse, rejection, isolation — lies at the heart of the ‘public health’ approach to preventing violence.

She explains how this principle underpins Focused Deterrence, an approach that successfully reduced violent crime in US cities and is now being tested across the UK. 

Links & Resources 

• Violence Reduction Network 

• YEF Toolkit | Focused Deterrence 

• Children, violence and vulnerability 2025 | The scale of violence affecting children 

The Youth Endowment Fund believes that no child should be affected by violence.  

We research violence to understand it; we find, fund and test what works to prevent it; and we are building a movement to end it.  

To find out more, visit our website

Follow us on Instagram: @youthendowfund 

Tell us what you think about Safe in this short survey.

Host: Ciaran Thapar, Youth Endowment Fund 

Series Producer: Meera Kumar 

When a young person is dealing with grief or trauma, support should be there. But what if the people meant to help don’t understand their world? Ben Lindsay, founder of Power the Fight, reflects on growing up in South East London and his work with children facing the day-to-day realities of violence. He explains why support can fall short and why therapy and public services need to be culturally sensitive if they’re going to make a difference. 

LINKS & RESOURCES 

Website: Power the Fight 

Research: Therapeutic Intervention for Peace (TIP) Report 

Research: Children, violence and vulnerability 2025 | Mental health and experiences of violence 

The Youth Endowment Fund believes that no child should be affected by violence.  

We research violence to understand it; we find, fund and test what works to prevent it; and we are building a movement to end it.  

Find out more

Follow us on Instagram: @youthendowfund 

Tell us what you think by completing this short survey

Host: Ciaran Thapar, Youth Endowment Fund 

Series Producer: Meera Kumar 

Since 2010, the number of council-run youth centres in Britain has more than halved, but at what cost? Drawing on her research into the history of youth clubs, author Emma Warren explores their cultural significance and their role in helping young people discover their identity, build connections and stay safe. With the government’s new National Youth Strategy, is this a fresh start or a false dawn?

Links & Resources

• Book: Up the Youth Club: Illuminating a Hidden History by Emma Warren 
• Book: Dance Your Way Home: A Journey Through the Dancefloor by Emma Warren 
• Research: Children, violence and vulnerability 2024 | Who has access to positive activities, youth clubs and trusted adults? 
• Research: Children, violence and vulnerability 2025 | Exploitation and Gangs 
• Research: Beyond the Headlines 2025 
• Policy paper: Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy 

 Follow us on Instagram: @youthendowfund

Tell us what you think in this short survey

Host: Ciaran Thapar, Youth Endowment Fund 

Series Producer: Meera Kumar 

School absences, suspensions, and exclusions have reached record highs in recent years. Behind the numbers is a complex story of trauma, vulnerability and unmet needs. What’s causing this trend — and how can we tackle it? Kiran Gill, former teacher and founder of The Difference, explores how schools can prevent lost learning while helping children stay safe. 

Links & resources 

Website: The Difference 

Resource for education leaders: Education, Children and Violence 

Resource for policymakers: Education Policy, Children and Violence 

Research: Association between school exclusion, suspension, absence and violent crime 

Research: Beyond the Headlines 2025 

Research: Making The Difference: Breaking the link between school exclusion and social exclusion 

Research: Who is losing learning? 

Research: Lost learning: Prevalence, inequalities and outcomes of internal exclusion in mainstream secondary schools 

Stats: Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England 

The Youth Endowment Fund believes that no child should be affected by violence.  

We research violence to understand it; we find, fund and test what works to prevent it; and we are building a movement to end it.  

To find out more, visit ⁠⁠YEF's website⁠⁠.

Follow us on Instagram: @youthendowfund 

⁠⁠Tell us what you think in this short survey⁠⁠

Host: Ciaran Thapar, Youth Endowment Fund 

Series Producer: Meera Kumar 

‘Social media drives violence.’ It’s a common claim, but is it true? Forrest Stuart, Professor of Sociology at Stanford University, paints a more nuanced picture. Drawing on his time with teenage gang members on the South Side of Chicago, he explores the tension between young people using social media to provoke, stay safe and seek validation, their posts being used against them in court, and the increased risks of victimisation for those living in urban poverty. 

Links & Resources

Website: ⁠⁠Stanford Ethnography Lab⁠⁠ 

Book: ⁠⁠Ballad of the Bullet: Gangs, Drill Music, and the Power of Online Infamy⁠⁠ by Forrest Stuart 

Book: ⁠⁠Down, Out, and Under Arrest: Policing and Everyday Life in Skid Row⁠⁠ by Forrest Stuart 

Research: ⁠⁠Children, violence and vulnerability 2025 | The scale of violence affecting children⁠⁠ 

Research: ⁠⁠School climate and the impact of neighborhood crime on test scores⁠⁠ 

The Youth Endowment Fund believes that no child should be affected by violence.  

We research violence to understand it; we find, fund and test what works to prevent it; and we are building a movement to end it.  

To find out more, visit ⁠⁠YEF's website⁠⁠.

Follow us on Instagram: @youthendowfund 

⁠⁠Tell us what you think in this short survey⁠⁠

Host: Ciaran Thapar, Youth Endowment Fund 

Series Producer: Meera Kumar 

‘Social media drives violence.’ It’s a common claim, but is it true? Forrest Stuart, Professor of Sociology at Stanford University, paints a more nuanced picture. Drawing on his time with teenage gang members on the South Side of Chicago, he explores the tension between young people using social media to provoke, stay safe and seek validation, their posts being used against them in court, and the increased risks of victimisation for those living in urban poverty. 

Links & Resources

Website: Stanford Ethnography Lab 

Book: Ballad of the Bullet: Gangs, Drill Music, and the Power of Online Infamy by Forrest Stuart 

Book: Down, Out, and Under Arrest: Policing and Everyday Life in Skid Row by Forrest Stuart 

Research: Children, violence and vulnerability 2025 | The scale of violence affecting children 

Research: School climate and the impact of neighborhood crime on test scores 

The Youth Endowment Fund believes that no child should be affected by violence.  

We research violence to understand it; we find, fund and test what works to prevent it; and we are building a movement to end it.  

To find out more, visit YEF's website.

Follow us on Instagram: @youthendowfund 

Tell us what you think in this short survey

Host: Ciaran Thapar, Youth Endowment Fund 

Series Producer: Meera Kumar 

At the age of 12, he was using drugs. By 13, he was selling them. By 14, he was trapped in a world dominated by fear and violence. Speaking anonymously, a young man shares his powerful story of being pulled into county lines and how he found a way out. He reflects on the harsh risks, realities and misconceptions about criminal exploitation, and what needs to change to protect children from it.

LINKS & RESOURCES

• Children Violence and Vulnerability 2025 - Exploitation and gangs

• Leaders Unlocked

• Just For Kids Law

The Youth Endowment Fund believes that no child should be affected by violence.  

We research violence to understand it; we find, fund and test what works to prevent it; and we are building a movement to end it.  

To find out more, visit: The Youth Endowment Fund

Follow us on Instagram: @youthendowfund 

Host: Ciaran Thapar, Youth Endowment Fund  

Series Producer: Meera Kumar 

In an age of social media and ‘toxic influencers’, are too many boys growing up without positive role models? 

Jack Reynolds shares the journey of Football Beyond Borders, showing how football can support children at risk of school exclusion and violence. He explains how, through setting up the Lost Boys Taskforce, the sense of belonging and relationships forged on the football pitch have inspired a new goal: giving every young person access to a trusted adult outside their family home. 

Links & Resources 

Football Beyond Borders 

The Lost Boys Taskforce 

Children, violence and vulnerability 2024 | Who has access to positive activities, youth clubs and trusted adults? 

Youth work and violence prevention 

The Youth Endowment Fund believes that no child should be affected by violence.  

We research violence to understand it; we find, fund and test what works to prevent it; and we are building a movement to end it.  

Find out more on the Youth Endowment Fund

Tell us what you think

Take this short survey

Host: Ciaran Thapar, Youth Endowment Fund  

Series Producer: Meera Kumar 

What does safety really mean to a child growing up around violence? 

Safe is a new podcast from the Youth Endowment Fund, hosted by Director of External Affairs and Youth Understanding - Ciaran Thapar, bringing lived experience, culture and evidence together to confront one of the defining issues of modern Britain. 

Each episode opens with one simple question: 
“When you were a child, how did you keep safe?” 

🎙️ Launching 4 February 
📅 New episodes every week 

Follow SAFE so you don’t miss the first episode.