Stephen Addison is a business administration graduate and social entrepreneur. He had a passion for boxing part-time whilst studying and decided to start a social enterprise called Box Up Crime. Box Up Crime aims to include people from disadvantaged backgrounds. From attending LSBU through clearing, he has gone on to win the LSBU Make It Happen Competition and be a finalist in Teach First’s Innovation Awards. He acknowledges the mentors he had that provided consistent guidance and encouragement, which is what we aim to do for the youth.
Box up crime:
Stephen Addison launched Box up crime in 2013 after witnessing the tragic loss of many close friends to gang violence and crime. Stephen was inspired to establish an or- ganisation that would address the social issues that expose vulnerable young people to crimes, as well as providing viable and positive alternatives to incarceration.
Challenges young adults face:
Every year there are 100 of young people who are murdered in London with some of the victims being as young as 13. There is a lack of safe space for the young people in local communities to develop their social skills and gain oppor- tunities for a successful future. As the crime rates rise more young kids are getting kicked out of school, therefore the level of education they receive is lower.
Box up solution:
They help the youth in various aspects in their life and help them stay away from crime by providing different opportu- nities and guidance. They provide boxing for young people in our community and stay affiliated with Boxing England to provide a safe place where everyone can gain skills from as well. Furthermore, in collaboration with the University of Arts London, they created “The Real Me” curriculum, a toolkit for mentoring and leadership development which won numer- ous awards. Giving a platform that young people can use to express their feelings in music can allow them to be creative and develop a career. Box up gives them an opportunity to create music and be creative with their feelings by encour- aging and supporting young people to start their own social enterprises and guide them through their ideas. Lastly, by providing careers and guiding the youth to a successful path gives them the support they may not otherwise get. Overall, Box Up have many options that can guide the youth and prevent them from committing crimes or not achieving their goals because of the lack of facilities they have.
