Bristol Horn Youth Concern started as a community group in 2012 and became a Community Interest Company (CIC) in July 2020. The organisation supports children and young people aged 8–25 years, primarily but not exclusively from Somali, East African and Afghan communities across Bristol. During the financial year ending 30 September 2025, the organisation delivered a wide range of free, open-access youth activities and community support programmes designed to improve the wellbeing, confidence, safety, and opportunities available to young people facing social and economic disadvantage. Activities included after-school and holiday provision, football, basketball and boxing sessions, arts and crafts, leadership development, CV writing workshops, media training, mentoring, work experience placements, and internship opportunities with local voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations and employers. These activities created safe spaces for young people to develop skills, build confidence, strengthen relationships, improve physical and mental wellbeing, and encourage positive lifestyles. Additionally, we secured funds from Henry Smith to take a group of 12 young people on a day trip to Weston Super Mare. I in the event we took 24 young people from BS2, many of whom had never seen the seaside! This has, in turn, led to us securing new funding to provide open access, free of charge, swim lessons through 2026 to young BAME girls. We have also made inroads into securing corporate funding and aim to expand on this initiative in future. The organisation also delivered successful outreach and late detached youth work sessions in partnership with Bristol City Council Safer Options Team and Avon and Somerset Police. Through this work, staff engaged directly with young people in community settings during evenings and high-risk periods to reduce anti-social behaviour, youth violence, exploitation, and involvement in knife crime. The detached youth work programme provided positive engagement, mentoring, safeguarding support, and signposting to services for vulnerable young people. Bristol Horn Youth Concern delivered knife awareness and community safety sessions to educate young people about the risks and consequences associated with carrying weapons, criminal exploitation, and serious youth violence. These sessions promoted positive decision-making, conflict resolution, emotional resilience, and personal safety awareness. The organisation also organised trips and positive diversionary activities for young people and families, including seaside trips and holiday activities through the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme. These trips provided opportunities for social inclusion, confidence building, physical activity, cultural experiences, and improved emotional wellbeing for children and young people who may otherwise have limited access to such opportunities. During Ramadan, the organisation provided food parcels and community support to families experiencing financial hardship and food insecurity. This support helped vulnerable households access essential food supplies and strengthened community cohesion and wellbeing during the holy month. DBS-checked and safeguarding-trained staff were based within schools and exclusion units across St Pauls and Inner City East Bristol. Staff provided mentoring, emotional support, conflict resolution, and early intervention support to young people experiencing behavioural, educational, and social challenges, including truancy and school exclusion. The organisation remained an active member of the St Pauls Partnership Forum and continued to work closely with local schools, statutory agencies, community organisations, and safeguarding professionals to improve outcomes for vulnerable children, young people, and families. Despite changes in local deprivation statistics linked to gentrification, many families within the community continued to experience high levels of poverty, overcrowded housing, digital exclusion, food insecurity, and community safety concerns. In response, all open-access sessions included free cooked meals, culturally appropriate refreshments, and safe access to community spaces. The organisation also covered travel costs for volunteers and young people participating in activities, training, work experience, and community programmes to reduce financial barriers to participation. Through its activities, Bristol Horn Youth Concern positively contributed to improving community wellbeing, increasing participation in education and positive activities, supporting emotional resilience, reducing social isolation, strengthening community safety, and creating pathways into volunteering, training, employment, and leadership opportunities for young people across Bristol.

Bristol Horn Youth Concern’s stakeholders include children and young people who attend our activities, parents and carers, volunteers, staff, schools, local residents, community organisations, our local ward councillors, Bristol City Council Safer Options Team, Avon and Somerset Police, Bristol Play & Youth Alliance, Your Holiday Hub Bristol, City Centre Youth and Play, East Bristol Locality Meeting members, youth and safeguarding professionals, funders, and local VCSE partners. During the year, stakeholders were consulted through regular conversations during youth sessions, parent and carer feedback, staff and volunteer meetings, partnership meetings, school discussions, detached youth work engagement, and community forums including the St Pauls Partnership Forum, Bristol Play & Youth Alliance meetings, East Bristol Locality Meetings, and partnership discussions with Your Holiday Hub Bristol and City Centre Youth and Play. Young people were also encouraged to share their views informally during activities and through discussions about what support, trips, sports, workshops, and opportunities they wanted to access. Feedback from young people and families showed a continued need for safe spaces, positive activities, food support, mentoring, work experience, sports provision, holiday activities, and support around community safety and knife awareness. In response, the company continued to provide free football, basketball and boxing sessions, HAF holiday activities, seaside trips, Ramadan food parcels, late detached youth work, knife awareness sessions, mentoring, and work experience opportunities. Feedback from schools, Bristol Play & Youth Alliance, Your Holiday Hub Bristol, City Centre Youth and Play, East Bristol Locality Meetings, and safeguarding partners also highlighted the importance of early intervention, youth engagement, support for young people at risk of exclusion, and positive activities during evenings and school holidays. In response, Bristol Horn Youth Concern continued to strengthen partnership working and provide outreach, mentoring, safeguarding support, holiday provision, sports activities, and signposting services for young people and families. The company used stakeholder feedback to shape its activities, improve access, reduce barriers to participation, and ensure that services remained culturally appropriate, inclusive, safe, and responsive to the needs of the community.

No remuneration was received

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration