One Mile Away is a social enterprise, run by a small group of us – young men who have renounced our former lives of violence on the streets of Birmingham. We work with young people in the community to prevent violence and criminality, rejecting the negative aspects of gangs. We deliver tailored interventions that challenge negative mindsets in young people; building aspirations and positive attitudes to themselves and others.
Our strategic interventions can change the mindset of a generation of youth who perceive negative and criminal gang lifestyles, low aspirations and a lack of care for self and others to be their only option. Using the film, our own music and social media we engage with people in a real and honest way. We provide positive role models from the young people’s own community – something we never had when we were growing up.
How this got started
Members of two rival gangs - the Burgers and the Johnsons - started working together to bring an end to a war that had been going on for over twenty years. This ground-up peace process was captured by the feature documentary film One Mile Away, which won Best British Film at the Edinburgh Film Festival and was recently at cinemas around the country and on Channel 4.