MEET OUR
COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS

I was born in a deprived area of Nottingham, UK, and groomed into criminality before dedicating my life to supporting communities affected by crime and violence. In 2016, I was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of The Year Award and a British Empire Medal.

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I work with Nottingham’s deprived communities such as St Ann’s, Radford and the Meadows. The main target is vulnerable young people who are often from minority groups, although me and my team help anyone that will benefit from a positive role model so they can believe in achieving a career outside of crime. This can be anyone that walks into the boxing gym or referrals from social care, or the police. In 2020 and 2021, that extended to helping families facing crisis due to the coronavirus – helping anyone that needs it with food parcels, warm clothes or advice on what the government guidelines mean for different cultural groups.   

I want to help young people to avoid the journey I had, to learn of the dangers they face with the path they are on, and to provide them with access to opportunities I wished I’d had.  

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This means giving young people access to role models with lived experiences of their journeys, who they can build trust with and communicate their fears and aspirations and who will link them to the required support and opportunities

Asad has over ten years of experience working in the voluntary, statutory sector. Having overcome many challenges of his own he identified the need for a culturally specific organisation which would improve service provision for Black, Asian, Minority, Ethnic, Refugees and New Emerging communities.  He developed the first UK based Islamic 12 step program.

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Asad’s vision for Al-Hurraya is for it to become a leading BAME specialist service providing solutions and support for all its beneficiaries.

I  am a people's person so  engaging with different communities and feeling the energy is my steer to continue to do the best I can whilst I can. I believe that I may be the oldest VRP Ambassador which does not faze me just adding life experience into the team.

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The future is bright.

I have lived in Stapleford since I was 6 months old and went to Frederick Harrison Infants, Stephenson Junior School and then Bramcote Park Comprehensive. Leaving school in 1983 I attended various colleges and had several jobs, ranging from Auto Electrician, Pizza Delivery Driver, Warehouse Worker, Door Supervisor. In 2014 I became an Independent Councillor at Stapleford Town Council and in 2015 I also became a Councillor at Broxtowe Borough Council, I have retained my seats in the 2019 elections.

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I sit on the Police and Crime Panel and I am also the Vice Chairman of the Community Safety Committee at Broxtowe Borough Council. I am also on the management committee at Broxtowe Youth Homelessness who I have supported for a number of years.

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Whilst I live in Stapleford and love where I live I also realise the importance of working with others. My phone is always on and I am working alongside volunteers and we help and support approximately 30 other groups and organisations, mainly with donations of food which we collect on a daily basis from local supermarkets but also with footwear by working with Shoe-Aid.

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Also supporting local youngsters in the area I often spend time at the local youth club which is another place we support with the #StaplefordFoodProject.

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As a Community Ambassador I want to show that we can work together in the County and the City as both have many issues that we need to collectively tackle. How can we expect our youngsters to not fall out over postcodes if we are not prepared to lead by example.

I am currently writing my first book ‘Right from Wrong’ to be published in early 2022 and am keen to continue stimulating important conversations with the public.

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My other work includes programme facilitation, mentoring, consultation and staff training in any environments where cultures could work better together. 

So, here is the movie, ready...I was born in Jamaica,(imagine waterfalls, sunshine and some reggae in the background) and at quite a young age I moved to England. I have been working in the community for the last 40 years,(a long time isn’t it?) My qualifications are around health and social care, especially caring for the elderly with Dementia. I have also been actively involved in working with kids who have learning disabilities (I consider bringing joys to them is my forte). I have also volunteered for Cancer Awareness for Change Makers and Mental health awareness organizations especially Awaaz within Nottinghamshire. 

I was also awarded an ambassador for Time to Change and the East Midlands champion in 2014. That was a big year for the mental health awareness projects, I remember. I have also been a volunteer Radio Show Presenter on my own show The Happy Empathy Hour at Radio Dawn 107.6FM since 2016. Currently I am working on my Blogs to cover stigmas related subjects to help the youngsters, especially and providing them with all the information that I can possibly publish for the members of the communities to get help and support from. 

I enjoy learning about different cultures & traditions, music, dancing and creative arts are my hobbies and interests. 

I would like to bring all my knowledge and experience around mental health and wellbeing, to help strive towards creating a better society. 

Hey, this is where the fun starts, why not grab a cup of tea and listen to some gold ol’ reggae music and let's dance. As uncle Shakespeare mentioned that life is merely a stage and we are all actors. Why don’t we then enjoy a good laugh and have a brilliant time by showing empathy towards each other.

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The community project offers young people the opportunity to engage in sports, particularly basketball which I coach, as well as other interactive activities such as arts and crafts, and music, with the aim of keeping them away from gangs and getting involved in anti-social behaviour.

I was very proud that this coaching and outreach work was recognised with the Unsung Hero award at the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year 2019.

The regional organisation, based in Nottingham, delivers sport-based intervention, mentoring, and progressions programmes to thousands of disadvantaged young people, empowering them to develop pro-social behaviours and providing a lasting positive impact.

The organisation works to a Theory of Change which ultimately provides at-risk young people with protective factors, diverting them away from negative influences such as youth offending, antisocial behaviour, violence, gang culture and knife crime.

Through an innovative, youth-led approach, Support Through Sport harnesses the power of sport to empower disadvantaged youth and create safer communities, where young people can thrive. 

I hope to achieve a more cohesive approach to rehabilitation and resettlement in Nottingham to help reduce reoffending. However, most importantly, I hope to co-create meaningful personal and progression opportunities for individuals so they can find happiness and peace in life.