Sam Sherlock of the Maximus Foundation UK (fifth left) recently awarded £2,500 to the charity Local Heroes and pictured at the presentation ceremony are, from left, Dan Coxon (Development Officer, Local Heroes), Malcolm Richards (trustee, Local Heroes), Ryan Doyle (Chairman, Local Heroes) and Sarah Pearson (trustee, Local Heroes) and from seventh left, Lisa Lamb (trustee, Local Heroes) and John Lee OBE (Patron, Local Heroes). Photo: Alan Quick.

Local Heroes resources to call time on Hate Crime

Local Heroes to unveil new resources that will inspire children and young people to #CallTimeOut on Hate Crime

Working with young victims of Hate Crime and prejudice, Local Heroes has produced a new Hate Crime awareness resource for children and young people that can be used in any formal or informal youth setting.

This resource consists of short films featuring young people sharing their experiences and the impact that Hate has had on their lives, as well as a call to action in the form of their views of what can be done to “Call Time Out” on prejudice and Hate Crime in the future.

The resource, which has been made possible with funding from The Wessex Youth Trust and the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation, also includes templates for social action activities (such as posters, campaign ideas, lesson plans) that, having been inspired by the short films, viewers can use to raise awareness of Hate Crime and drive change in their own communities; whether that be schools, geography or virtual and social media platforms. This will all be collated on the #CallTimeOut section of the Local Heroes website; acting as a library of ideas and material that will support young people everywhere.

Local Heroes exists to inspire young people from all backgrounds to maximise their potential and the role they play in society. We raise awareness of prejudice and hate crime; empowering young people to celebrate diversity, value difference, nurture change and prevent prejudice bullying.

With the support of Paralympians, TV personalities, Athletes, Professional Basketball and Rugby Teams and Premier League Football Clubs, we have delivered roadshows across England since 2014 and created close to 800 young ambassadors whose #CallTimeOut pledges have included: “I will stand by anyone who feels uncomfortable or different because of their race, disability or social awareness”; “Make sure people are always involved in social activity. Don’t leave people out just because they may be different”; “Call time out on hate crime. I will not use gay as a bad word”; “Teach myself and others to respect and treat others equally. Teach the younger years and my own year that being whatever and whoever they want to be is ok”. Local Heroes innovative practice in supporting schools tackle prejudice and hate crime has been identified as an example of best practice in hate crime education by Truevision at the Ministry of Justice and received support from Ministers at the Department for Education.

Ryan Doyle, Local Heroes founder and chair of trustees said: “The biggest thing we have learnt from working with young people over the last couple of years is the enthusiasm and passion they have for owning and driving the change in culture themselves that is needed to challenge prejudice and prevent Hate Crime. We are delighted to have teamed up with RIO (Real Ideas Organisation) and some incredible young people to produce these resources which we are confident will make a difference and inspire a generation”.

Local Heroes will be launching their new resources at Portcullis House, Westminster on the afternoon of Monday the 2nd of October. As well as a screening of the short films there will also be a chance to hear from Heroes that have worked with the charity and Local Heroes’ patron, Actor and Director Greg Wise: “I have witnessed first-hand the corrosive nature of hate and bullying, and am thankful now to be part of an organisation in Local Heroes that tackles this head on”.