Abianda
Abi Billinghurst, the Founder and CEO of Abianda, explains Abianda’s work with girls and young women and its involvement with the MOPAC Girls and Young Women Fund
Supporting girls and young women affected by violence and exploitation
Improving Support for Girls and Young Women Impacted by Gangs, Violence and Exploitation is a London-wide initiative by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC). Social Finance is overseeing the Girls and Young Women Local Groups Fund, working in partnership with specialist organisations Abianda and Agenda Alliance.
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Kaya Comer-Schwartz, Deputy Mayor for Policing & Crime (MOPAC) in London
The Girls and Young Women Local Groups Fund aims to strengthen both direct support and the evidence base on what works, by offering grants to London-based community groups already working with girls and young women impacted by violence and exploitation.
The grants process is being overseen by Social Finance, in partnership with specialist organisations Abianda, a charity working with girls and young women affected by criminal exploitation, and Agenda Alliance, a national alliance advocating for women and girls experiencing multiple unmet needs.
Agenda Alliance
Indy Cross, the Chief Executive of Agenda Alliance, outlines the work of the Alliance and its role with the Girls and Young Women Fund.
I’m proud to be able to support the Girls and Young Women Local Groups Fund. By delivering group work and creating safe, supportive spaces for girls and young women who have faced harm from gangs, violence and exploitation to share their experiences of what life is like, we can better meet their needs and make our city safer for every woman and girl.
Kaya Comer-Schwartz, Deputy Mayor for Policing & Crime, MOPAC
The local groups
The grantees of the Girls & Young Women Local Groups Fund to support girls and young women impacted by gangs, violence and exploitation. The 12 organisations awarded funding are:
- Activities 4 U
Activities 4 u is dedicated to creating engaging, educational, and fun-filled experiences for children and young people. Programs are designed to inspire creativity, build confidence, and promote personal growth through sports, educational workshops, and community activities. - Anima Youth
Anima Youth provides safe spaces, guidance, and life-changing opportunities for girls and young women at risk of exploitation and violence. Through supported accommodation and community projects, they help girls to navigate challenges, build confidence, and secure brighter futures. - Be Inspired
Be Inspired empowers young people by offering a diverse range of programmes that inspire positive life choices and foster community resilience against serious youth violence. - Inspiring Your Imagination
Inspiring Your Imagination is a community-led social enterprise established to support and empower marginalised young people, with a particular focus on girls and young women growing up in areas affected by crime, violence and structural disadvantage. - Liberty Una CIC
Liberty Una CIC is a grassroots, survivor-led organisation founded by and for minoritised women and girls. It offers peer-led recovery programmes, trauma-informed workshops, and advocacy support to improve safety, well-being, and long-term resilience. - Life Of Her CIC
Life Of Her CIC provides emotional and practical support to women and girls aged between 8–25. Their mission is to create a supportive environment where young women and girls can thrive and navigate the complexities of life with confidence and resilience. - Lifeline Projects
Lifeline Projects is a values-driven community charity in East London. Their mission is to relieve hardship and distress through holistic support, with a specific focus on young people on the edge of serious youth violence, school exclusion, and poor mental health. - Milk Honey Bees
Milk Honey Bees is a creative and expressive safe space for Black girls to flourish and put H.E.R (Healing, Empowerment and Resilience) first. Milk Honey Bees is rooted in the creativity, celebration, and liberation of Black Girlhood by amplifying the voices of Black Girls. - Shpresa Programme
Shpresa Programme is a charity that promotes the participation and contribution of Albanian-speaking refugees and migrants in the UK. They encourage and support individuals and families to play a positive and active role in British society. - The Daddyless Daughters
The Daddyless Daughters Project is a grassroots organisation based in South East London, supporting girls and young women up to 25 who are affected by family breakdown, childhood trauma and associated harms including exploitation, violence and criminalisation. - True Cadence
True Cadence builds a supportive environment and music programmes where young artists and aspiring music industry professionals can learn the business side of music and receive comprehensive music education. - Youth Community Connexions
Youth Community Connexions is a youth-led charity in North London. They are passionate about helping young people and the community become confident, informed, and empowered to be proud of who they are as individuals.
Local groups funded through this programme have four main roles:
- To create safe spaces for girls and young women to take part in group sessions, where they can connect with others and offer each other support
- To involve girls and young women in co-design and co-production activities – helping shape services and build a better understanding of what support should look like
- To engage with development support and capacity-building, including learning sessions and networking with other grant-funded groups
- To engage with the Fund’s monitoring and learning activities to help us learn from the group work
Alongside funding to deliver group work and enable girls and young women to co-produce recommendations for improving the sector, the fund offers structured development activities to support grantees and build a network of providers.
The Fund focuses on achieving outcomes across two key priorities:
Delivering gender-responsive support for girls and young women
Building a network of practice for grantees
Through delivery of group work, development support for grantees and co-production activities, the fund will generate the following learning and evidence to inform practice, policy and commissioning:
- Insights on what works in supporting girls and young women
- Language and definitions that are inclusive, accurate, and informed by the voices of girls and young women
- Contemporary understanding of girls’ and young women’s needs beyond the gang member narrative
About the programme
The Girls and Young Women Local Groups Fund is part of a London-wide initiative by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).
The programme brings together the voices and experiences of girls and young women and practitioners across the sector to improve how girls and young women affected by violence and criminal exploitation are identified, understood and supported across London.
The Girls and Young Women Local Groups Fund
The Local Groups Fund supports community‑based organisations to create safe, gender‑responsive spaces where girls and young women can receive support, build trust and shape learning based on their lived experience.
The work will generate learning and evidence on what works in supporting this cohort of girls and young women, language and definitions that are inclusive and accurate, and will build a contemporary understanding of girls and young women’s needs beyond the gang member narrative.
The fund was shaped through a co-design process with young women who have lived experience or knowledge of gangs, violence and exploitation. Their insights directly informed the Fund’s priorities and activities, helping ensure it reflects the needs of this cohort of girls and young women.
The Risks and Needs Framework
Alongside the Local Groups Fund, there is funding to develop a Risks and Needs Framework, led by Abianda in partnership with Research in Practice and the University of Lancashire. The Risk and Needs Framework strand will take learning from existing research, practitioner expertise and the voices of girls and young women to improve how systems identify and respond to girls and young women’s needs.
The two strands are mutually reinforcing
Co-production and practice learning across the Local Groups Fund will inform and strengthen practice, policy making, and commissioning in providing girls and young women with the support that they need, beyond the gang member narrative. The Risk and Needs Framework project will support better practice from systems and safeguarding partners in identifying girls and young women, and their individual needs, enabling professionals to offer them the most appropriate support.
At its core, this is one programme, working to achieve the same goal; improved understanding, better support and ultimately better outcomes for girls and young women.
