On the 1 November, Essex County Councillor Louise McKinlay, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Communities, Economic Growth and Prosperity joined Roger Hirst Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex on a visit to Doddinghurst Road Community Church (DRCC) in Brentwood.
The purpose of the visit was to witness the great work being done by Youth Worker Aaron Watts and his team to support young people in the community and help them avoid becoming involved in youth violence. The work being done is supported through the Violence and Vulnerability Unit’s Community Grants programme.
Roger and Louise were able to see some of the programmes currently being run in Brentwood through the DRCC Youth Service programme, and how the team are reaching out into their community to support those at risk and in need. They were impressed by the clear links between both Essex County Council’s priorities and the PFCC’s priorities and how the funding provided by the VVU is supporting this work.
On the visit they witnessed examples of the youth work and the youth hub, as well as being shown the type of support delivered in local schools and the method of delivery of this work.
Both Louise and Roger commented on how well DRCC is integrated into their local community and the positive relationships they had with the people they were working with.
