The Flavasum Trust

Young people don’t have it easy. The right job is difficult to find and education doesn’t always deliver. Some of the most vulnerable end up carrying a knife for an extra sense of security or joining a gang.

Reaching these young people and gaining their trust has been an uphill struggle for agencies and organisations trying to reduce youth violence.

The Flavasum Trust believes that the arts have an important role to play. We think disaffected young people respect creativity and can be engaged when ideas and issues relating to their lives are openly and honestly discussed.

This is the reason why the Trust was set up – to help organisations using the arts reach more young people, and create new opportunities where the most marginalised and disaffected can find ways to change their lives.

Reducing the number of young people carrying knives is our key aim, but that can never be enough. More must be done to help them live more positive lives, or society will have to deal with an angry and resentful minority who see no reason to change.

Recent work

In July 2022, we were able to support our partners – The Comedy School and Arc Theatre – perform their interactive anti-knife crime plays in 13 primary schools and 7 secondary schools in Luton, reaching a total of 3,900 students. In May 2023 we will publish our final Impact Evaluation of these school interventions.

Meanwhile, Nathan Levy continued his Devastating After Effects anti-knife crime workshops in the same secondary schools, increasing the impact of the theatre performances.

In November 2022, we supported Arc Theatre perform its powerful youth engagement project to raise awareness of the realities of Stop and Search in six Luton primary schools, reaching a further 495 students.

Previously, in March 2020, we supported The Comedy School reach 1,400 primary-school students in Luton with its anti-knife crime play, and in 2019 we reached over 6,000 London secondary-school students in 35 schools with our anti-knife programme facilitated by Nathan, and worked with the London Ambulance Service and the Metropolitan Police in Barking & Dagenham, Redbridge and Havering .

More information here…

Funding

On 27-28 May 2023, a brave trustee is competing in the THREE PEAKS CHALLENGE, raising funds for our charity. This means trekking over 25 miles across Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in just 24 hours! Please support her at JustGiving…

If you would like to know what we receive and spend each year, take a look at our profile pages at the Charity Commission – it provides a simple record from our annual returns. For more information, please contact us using the Contact form.

Copies of CHANGE (screen printed by Ben Eine and based on his street art for Flavasum) can be purchased as a 4-page card and envelope for £2 plus p&p. Click here.