Lives Not Knives

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Lives Not Knives

A youth led charity dedicated to preventing knife crime and serious youth violence in London. Supporting young people into employment, education and training.

Lives Not Knives is dedicated to reducing knife and gang related crime in Croydon and London by:
Using a Mentoring and Befriending approach that is committed to helping young people at risk. Focusing on training for young people in schools to ensure they are safe at home, at school or college and in their social and leisure time activities. Providing safe places for young people to meet, socialise

and make friends in a relaxed environment. Lives Not Knives focuses on preventative work with young people aged 11 to 24 who have been referred to the organisation by teachers, parents and agencies or who have referred themselves to LNK. LNK is Croydon-based but works across London with schools, colleges and other partner organisations to reduce the risk of gang related violence to young people.

21/08/2026

Messages like this mean so much to us.🧡🧡🤗🧡🧡

We recently received this lovely message from a parent whose young person attended our half-term programme, and it genuinely warmed our hearts. 🥹
Hearing directly from parents about the positive impact our programmes have on their young people reminds us exactly why we do what we do.

Creating safe spaces where young people can have fun, build confidence, learn new skills, make connections and simply be themselves is at the heart of Lives Not Knives.
A huge thank you to the parent for taking the time to share these kind words with us, and to all the young people who joined us over half-term.
This is what it’s all about. 🙌

11/08/2026

What a summer it’s been ☀️🧡

Last week marked the end of our Lives Not Knives Engage Summer Programme, and we finished on a high 🎉

Our young people had the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of DJing with a DJ on site thanks to Mandy C Kimmins 🎧, and we were also pleased to welcome Shelley Davies, Croydon’s Director of Education, who came along to visit the programme.

Across the summer, our young people enjoyed everything from mini golf, the funfair and Flip Out to sports in the park, team games and Healthy Relationships workshops. Most importantly, it’s been great seeing new friendships form, confidence grow and everyone having fun together. 🙌🏾

A huge thank you to everyone who made this summer special. We can’t wait to welcome our young people back next half-term

Keep an eye on our socials for when sign-ups go live, or visit our website for the latest updates.

30/07/2026

Week 2, Day 2 of our Lives Not Knives Engage Summer Programme 🎡🧡🥳

Today was all about having fun! We headed to the funfair, where everyone had a great time enjoying the rides, laughing together and making more summer memories.

It's been brilliant to see all our young people getting involved. 🙌

29/07/2026

Week 2 of our Lives Not Knives Engage Summer Programme is underway, and it’s been great to welcome so many new faces! 🤗

Yesterday we started the day with a Healthy Relationships workshop, where our young people had some really important conversations about recognising the positive and negative signs of healthy friendship. We also explored topics such as what to do if you witness online bullying and how we can all play a part in creating safer, more supportive spaces online.

After the workshop, we headed to the park to burn off some energy, enjoy the sunshine and spend time together playing some team games. It’s always great to see new friendships forming and everyone getting involved.

Looking forward to another week of learning, fun and creating positive memories. 🙌

23/07/2026

Days 2 & 3 of our Summer Engage Programme ☀️ 🙌

Yesterday we took things outdoors for a fun-filled day at the park! ⚽🏀 The young people got stuck into football, rounders, basketball and plenty of other team games.
It was great to see everyone working together, encouraging one another and, most importantly, having a go at sports they might not usually feel confident playing. Seeing them step outside their comfort zones, try something new and enjoy themselves is exactly what Engage is all about. 🧡

Today, we switched things up with a trip to Flip Out 🤸🏾‍♂️ The young people had an amazing time jumping, laughing and enjoying the day together. Safe to say there were plenty of tired legs by the end! 😂

Another brilliant couple of days filled with teamwork, confidence, new experiences and lots of smiles. We're already looking forward to what's next 🙌

21/07/2026

Day one of our Summer Engage Programme is officially complete, and what a way to kick things off. 🧡🥳☀️

Today was all about team games, having fun and getting to know one another. It was amazing to see everyone throwing themselves into the activities, building confidence and creating new friendships from the very start.

One of the best parts of the day was seeing our new attendees settle in so quickly and naturally gel with our regular young people. Moments like that are exactly what the Engage Programme is all about – creating a safe, welcoming space where everyone feels included and has the chance to thrive.

A huge thank you to all of the young people who brought so much energy and positivity today. We can't wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store. 🤗🧡

20/07/2026

Last week we had the pleasure of welcoming two young men from The John Fisher School to Lives Not Knives for their work experience. 🧡🙌

During their time with us, they brought a valuable young person's perspective to our social media and communications. They researched current topics and issues affecting young people aged 11–18, explored how youth-focused organisations create engaging content, and developed their own ideas for Instagram Stories, polls, quizzes and Q&As.

They also thought about an important question: "What do young people actually want to see from us?" Using this as inspiration, they developed questions to help us better understand our young audience and even created ideas for a week's worth of social media content.

It's been fantastic having them with us and hearing their ideas. As a youth-led charity, we believe it's incredibly important that young people's voices are at the heart of what we do including how we communicate and engage with our community online.

A huge thank you to both of them for their hard work, creativity and fresh ideas throughout their time with Lives Not Knives. We hope you enjoyed your work experience as much as we enjoyed having you. 🧡👏🧡

17/07/2026

Throughout July, Jonathan Docksey is taking on the JD20 Plank Challenge 💪 to raise vital funds for Lives Not Knives as part of celebrating 20 years of Design JD!

A plank may seem simple, but holding the line takes determination, discipline and mental strength. While Jonathan pushes himself outside his comfort zone, he's also raising awareness of the far greater challenges many young people face every day.

Every donation will help Lives Not Knives continue to engage, educate and empower young people, providing mentoring, education, workshops and positive opportunities that help prevent serious youth violence and create safer, brighter futures. 🧡

A huge thank you to Jonathan for choosing to support our work and to everyone who has donated and encouraged him along the way. 🙏🏾
Together, we can build stronger communities and brighter futures for young people.

💬 How long do you think you could hold a plank for? Let us know in the comments! 👇🏾

16/07/2026

🚨 Could 'Respect Orders' help tackle anti-social behaviour?

The Government has announced plans to introduce new Respect Orders across England and Wales, giving police and councils stronger powers to tackle persistent anti-social behaviour.

Under the new measures, repeat offenders could:

🔹 Be banned from specific areas, such as town centres, parks and high streets.

🔹 Be prohibited from behaviours linked to anti-social behaviour, including public drinking in certain locations.

🔹 Be required to attend support programmes, such as drug or alcohol treatment or anger management, to address the root causes of their behaviour.

🔹 Face arrest and criminal penalties, including community orders, fines or even prison, if they breach a Respect Order.

At Lives Not Knives, we know that creating safer communities requires both accountability and early intervention. While enforcement plays an important role, we also believe long-term change comes from investing in prevention, education and giving young people access to positive opportunities before they become involved in harmful behaviour.

💬 What do you think? Will Respect Orders help make our communities safer, or do we need to invest more in early intervention and youth services to tackle the root causes of anti-social behaviour?

Share your thoughts in the comments below. ⬇️

14/07/2026

WOW! 🚒❤️

We're incredibly proud to see Lives Not Knives featured on the Mitcham and Peckham fire trucks!

A huge thank you to firefighters Chris and Leon for their amazing support and for helping to spread our message across the community.

We'd also like to say a special thank you to Nathan Bowen for his incredible and inspiring artwork, which beautifully brings our message to life.

It's partnerships and support like this that help us raise awareness and continue making a positive difference in the lives of young people.

Thank you all for standing with Lives Not Knives. Together, we're building safer communities and brighter futures. 🙏🏾❤️

Address

LNK Unit, Upper Mall, Centrale
Croydon
CR01TY

Telephone

+442086818244

Website

https://linktr.ee/livesnotknives

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