SCHOOLS' PROJECT
Ian, our Presenter, demonstrating Smartwater [aka 'Liquid DNA'] to students at Passmores School in Essex
In late 2003, in response to an Evaluation Form completed by an inmate at HM YOI Aylesbury who wrote 'If I'd had something like this session at school, I don't think I'd be here now', Outside Chance developed a 70-minute workshop called 'You Don't Know Who You're Dealing With!. We trialed the project in West London between September 2003 and March 2004 with a forecast audience of 250 pupils and young people. In just 6 months, we had seen 860 young people, such was the response from local schools and youth groups who saw the workshop as an effective, powerful, crime intervention programme.
We successfully fundraised in the summer of 2004 before relaunching a three-year project with a forecast audience of 7,000 pupils and young people in community and youth groups.
At the time of writing, our workshops have been seen by 90,000+ young people across London and Essex venues. We have achieved all of this with little additional funding since it costs the same to deliver a workshop to 5 people as it does to 500. Only the people-moving logistics change in each venue.
We challenge peer pressure, bullying, racism, binge drinking, homophobia, antisocial behaviour and deglamourise crime in all its forms. We take the viewer through life in a young offender institution with prison clothing, prison conditions and the long term consequences of a criminal record on potential employment, training opportunities, travel, credit, etc.
We are currently fund-raising for the 2011-2012 school year and beyond. See the 'User Feedback' page.