The murder last March of teenager Jay Kensett shocked an entire community.

Following the stabbing, a small band of parents decided to do something to give teenagers an alternative to hanging about on the streets. Now young people can relax in a safe environment and learn new skills.

Groups of teenagers hanging around on street corners are always viewed as trouble. Faced with the stereotype some start living up to their name, but now a small group of parents are trying to break the vicious circle.

Lorraine Town, her partner Darren Snow and friend Barbara Draper believe young people should be given a fair chance to make something of themselves and be judged on more than just face value.

All three now work on a voluntary basis to help teenagers in their area.

They do not deny that huge gangs of youths can appear intimidating and individuals can cause trouble, but they say if the teenagers are not given any help what more can people expect.

Mother-of-two Lorraine said: "We have always had our house full of kids but what made us want to do more was mainly Jay's stabbing - my son was with him when it happened.

"They were standing around in the street because they had nowhere to go and the murder made us desperate to get them off the streets."

A council-owned building, off Coolham Drive, in Whitehawk, had been standing empty for a few years and the group knew it would be perfect to house a youth club.

After six months of negotiations with the council and various funding bodies, the Crew Club opened it's doors last September.

Teenagers flocked to a series of meetings where they were asked what they wanted in a youth club. The adults may have started the process but it was the kids themselves who helped make the centre

happen and a committee of them now help run it.

Five months on, it has more than 135 members aged between 12 and 18 and has been awarded funding from the New Deal for the Communities Early Wins project.

A pool table, ping-pong table, dartboard, karaoke, television and video and chairs were among the first purchases for the centre which the youngsters have painted themselves.

Another grant from New Deal paid for a mixing desk and other DJ-ing equipment. The older boys have not only helped put it together they are now teaching the younger kids how to use it.

Lorraine said: "We haven't noticed a change in the kids since we opened but other people have. There are less complaints about them and less vandalism.

"I can't say they are angels - if people confronted them they would get abusive - but the trouble some of them have got into is just kid's stuff and they are nice kids."

Asa McBride, 17, said often people would call the police, whether a group of teenagers had done something or not.

He said: "If 15 of us were sat round the old bill would be there in five minutes, but now we can come here, play pool or play around on the mixing decks without all that grief."

Some of those young people who attend the Crew Club have not only been excluded from other youth clubs in the area but also face social exclusion elsewhere.

Lorraine said: "A lot of the kids have been kicked out of college and have no confidence in themselves, we try and give it back."

Lecturers from local colleges have given talks about courses offered and those who have expressed interest in a trade have been put in touch with people who can offer advice.

Darren, who is a teaching auxiliary at St George's House, Dyke Road, said: "Some of the kids have left school with no qualifications and there's nowhere for them to go from there except down the road towards crime.

"We are not just interested in them while they are at the youth club, we want to help them get on in life. They need some support, whether that is giving them information or going with them to a job interview."

Lorraine and Darren believe the success of the Crew Club is down to the teenagers themselves, who have shown not only respect for the project but also for the adults among them.

And the youngsters are grateful. David Stunell, 14, said: "This keeps everyone off the streets, it was needed. Now I come here to play pool, listen to music or watch TV with all my mates."

The club meets at the youth centre, Coolham Drive, every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 7pm to 10pm.

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