A RECENTLY formed group in Mold is using some of the ill-gotten gains of criminals to help young people in the town through the Your Community, Your Choice fund. Positive Futures Mold runs weekly drop-in sessions in the Daniel Owen Community Centre for young people aged 15-19 in the Flintshire town and attracts around 20 attendees per session.
The group’s success, and wish to expand, led them to apply for the Your Community, Your Choice fund, the winners of which are decided by public vote. Positive Futures Mold were successful in the vote and Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin visited them recently to see the impact the funding has had on the group already.
Your Community, Your Choice is supported by the PCC, North Wales Police, and the North Wales Police and Community Trust (PACT). Over the past twelve years, Your Community, Your Choice has awarded almost £660,000 to 214 projects working to reduce crime in their neighbourhoods and support the priorities in the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan. The funding comes partly from money seized by the courts through the Proceeds of Crime Act, with the remainder provided by the Police and Crime Commissioner.
Positive Futures Mold is run by Ellie Johnson and Susan Banks and was set up in September 2024. It had initial funding from Mold Town Council which covered the cost of room hire, insurance and basic refreshments each week. As the drop-in has proved popular, the grant from Your Community, your Choice will help fund games and sports equipment to be used on a weekly basis. In time they also hope to engage a monthly speaker, for example from the sports or education fields to help the young community gain in resilience, confidence and gain helpful, fulfilling opportunities for a more positive future.
The group has an informal, drop-in feel, though attendees are required to sign in and out and sign a behaviour contract at the outset agreeing to terms of appropriate and expected behaviour. The group aims for a welcoming atmosphere of inclusivity and focuses on engaging the local young people, particularly those who feel disengaged from society and who require consistent and regular connection to enhance healthy life choices and positive futures.
During his visit to Positive Futures Mold alongside North Wales Police PCSO Charlotte Wilson, PCC Dunbobbin met Ellie Johnson and Susan Banks and a number of the young people who attend the sessions. The group discussed the importance of the project for them and the wider young people of Mold and the PCC joined in some of the activities underway during the session.
Ellie Johnson of Positive Futures Mold commented: “I was delighted to show the PCC the work we are doing here in Mold to engage young people and help reduce antisocial behaviour (ASB). I have seen first-hand the kind of difference support and engagement can make in the lives of our young people and feel that our drop-ins can help reach young people and support them to go on to make better life choices, hopefully resulting in less police contact or potential criminal behaviour. I believe that young people need a positive outlet and support system that works for them and this is what we feel we can offer at Positive Futures Mold. The Daniel Owen Community Centre staff have also been excellent and very supportive in helping us to set up and have a base for the drop-in.”
Andy Dunbobbin, North Wales Police & Crime Commissioner, said: “Groups like Positive Futures Mold are the backbones of communities right across North Wales, giving opportunity and encouragement to the people they serve. I was delighted to visit them and to see the work they are doing with young people in Mold. My Police and Crime Plan for North Wales prioritises supporting communities and this group is an example of my plan and its aims in action.”
PACT Chairman Ashley Rogers said: “I am delighted PACT has been able to support Positive Futures Mold through the Your Community, Your Choice fund. Young people are the citizens and leaders of tomorrow and anything we can do to engage with them and invest in them should be embraced. I look forward to seeing Positive Futures Mold grow in the future and make even more of a difference for young people in the town.”
North Wales Police Assistant Chief Constable Gareth Evans commented: “It’s important that we offer young people worthwhile and positive activities and give them an alternative to potentially causing ASB through boredom or any other reason. This is how groups like Positive Futures Mold can help support the work of the police and build community cohesion across the region. I am pleased that we have been able to support them in their work.”
To learn more about PACT, visit www.pactnorthwales.co.uk and to learn more about the work of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, visit www.northwales-pcc.gov.uk.
To read more about Positive Futures Mold visit: www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=61565550788758
