‘Our life sentence is real’: Anti-knife crime group continues to spread important message

A county-wide anti-knife crime organisation remains committed to spreading their important message.

Knife Crime Victim Support (KCVS) most recently held a stall at the Northampton Balloon Festival last weekend, where they advised, shared and helped the community in any way they could.

What made this message so poignant was that the family members and friends of those lost to knife crime were running the stall and sharing their stories.

Louis-Ryan Menezes’ mother Cheri Curran attended on Friday (August 18), Reece Ottaway’s mother Charlotte Marshall attended on Saturday (August 19) and Antoin Akpom’s mother Cheryl Armitage attended on Sunday (August 20).

Cheri says the aim was to “share their pain and desperate need for change with the public” – as well as provide an insight into their services and goals for the youth of today.

What Cheri and Quinton Green, who founded KCVS in January 2019, were most taken aback by were the strong young people who came to assist on the stall. This included best friends of Fred Shand, Jay and Aaliyah.

Cheri, who is honoured to be an ambassador for KCVS, told this newspaper: “It was truly amazing to see everyone come together, to share their pain and personal experience of knife crime.

“How truly courageous.”

Cheri says the family members want to continue sharing “beautiful members of their precious angels” to anyone who will listen, and they all continue to “stand together”.

“Our life sentence is real,” she added. “And we’re sending support and care to those impacted.”

KCVS’ stall was located in the Community Marquee and Cheri says it was heartwarming to see so many organisations “all working hard for the greater good” together in one place.

Cheri and the team were also pleased to see the Mayor and Mayoress, Stephen Hibbert and Liz Cox, who they first met at the Knife Angel visit earlier in the year.

When asked how she feels the stall was received at the Balloon Festival, Cheri says the community was “intrigued” and “saddened”.

The main message they wanted to get across to visitors was the importance of talking to young people at home, making sure they know what is going on on their phones, and continuing to look for the signs of involvement in knife crime.

The KCVS team is made up of both staff members and volunteers, all working towards the common goal of minimising knife crime and making the county safer.

They partner with schools, organisations and charities to “encourage innovation” and “cultivate aspirations and ambition” – particularly through lived experience.

“Young people are a voice and our aim is to listen to that voice,” said Cheri. “We want to celebrate their achievements and successes.”

The aim is to continue providing them with positive role models, networks and professional support.

KCVS’ sessions for young people will continue with full force when the new school year starts in September, and Cheri was encouraged by feedback at the Balloon Festival – when people expressed they wanted these sessions in their communities.

For more information on Knife Crime Victim Support and how you can get involved, visit their Facebook page here.