\n Kingsway Community Connections (KCC) will host the meeting, which has been organised by elected officials, on October 21 to tackle the issue in the Garscadden\/Scotstounhill ward.\n<\/p>\n
\n Staff at the charity, which is based in the city\u2019s north-west, recently visited Brixton, London, where they met with Marcus Lipton Community Enterprise (MLCE) as part of a joint effort to strengthen both organisations’ responses to violence affecting youths.\n<\/p>\n
\n Left to right: Lainy Bedingfield of KCC and Wayne James of MLCE(Image: Kingsway Community Connections)\n<\/p>\n
\n The visit in September followed the tragic death of 15-year-old Amen Teklay, a member of KCC\u2019s youth groups, who died after being found seriously injured in the St George\u2019s Cross area of Glasgow on March 5 this year.\n<\/p>\n
\n KCC say that Amen\u2019s loss \u201cdeeply affected the community\u201d and continues to drive its determination to protect young people and advocate for long-term change.\n<\/p>\n
\n The group have now formed a partnership with MLCE and both organisations are calling for urgent action from political and statutory leaders with four main asks.\n<\/p>\n
\n Nadine Searchwell, mother of murdered youth Keelen Morris Wong, speaks with Lainy Bedingfield and Wayne James(Image: Kingsway Community Connections)\n<\/p>\n
\n KCC staff speak to community police officers during a walk around Brixton hosted by MLCE(Image: Kingsway Community Connections)\n<\/p>\n
\n READ NEXT:<\/strong> Questions over who is involved in Glasgow’s youth violence talks<\/a>\n<\/p>\n What are the asks?<\/p>\n \n \n Lainy Bedingfield, managing director of KCC, said: \u201cThis visit has reinforced both the urgency of the challenge and the power of solidarity.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cWe have seen that Glasgow and Brixton face the same realities, and that community organisations cannot carry this burden alone.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cOur young people deserve safety, stability, and opportunity. The Four Asks we set out are not only the voice of KCC and MLCE, but they are also the voice of young people, families, and communities.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cWe will continue to press until real change is delivered.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n \n READ NEXT:<\/strong> Glasgow teens give up school holidays to transform parks<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \n KCC says it believes that the visit showed that while Glasgow and Brixton are separated by distance, \u201cthey face the same realities\u201d, including young lives lost too soon, communities grieving, and local organisations stretched to their limits.\n<\/p>\n \n Both KCC and MLCE say that no community \u2018should have to shoulder the responsibility alone\u2019.\n<\/p>\n \n The team believe that lasting change is needed, which they say requires national leadership, policy reform, and sustained investment.\n<\/p>\n \n \n Over the two-day visit to London, KCC staff worked with MLCE staff, parents, and residents, listening to their fears and hopes and sharing their own experiences of supporting young people and families through crisis and loss.\n<\/p>\n \n The visit concluded with a visit to the Houses of Parliament, where both organisations jointly called for action.\n<\/p>\n \n Justice Secretary Angela Constance<\/a> said: \u201cMy deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of Amen Teklay and anyone affected by youth violence.\n<\/p>\n\n
KCC and MLCE staff meet with London’s Violence Reduction Unit(Image: Kingsway Community Connections)\n<\/p>\n
Lib Peck, director of the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit, speaks to Wayne James(Image: Kingsway Community Connections)\n<\/p>\n
Both organisations visited the Houses of Parliament(Image: Kingsway Community Connections)\n<\/p>\n