We set the time, the date and the venue, we set the people of Liverpool the challenge of joining us and making a difference. We even set our march in August in the hope it would be sunny, but as we are all too aware Britain rarely has a summer were rain is not the main feature!

And yet, despite the awful weather conditions, the people of Liverpool and Merseyside refused to let poor conditions dampen their spirit. Instead, hundreds of young people, parents and grandparents alike joined us in our quest to reduce violent crime in the UK and took to our streets.

Term Time would like to thank all those who showed their support and attended our Anti-Violence Youth March yesterday, not only was it a great day as it was clear that others felt strongly about the cause we are fighting for, but we also gained a lot of media awareness about what we want to achieve!

The tragic loss of yet another life in Liverpool made our march all the more poignant, 16-year-old, Luke Howard was stabbed to death during a row at a party, in the Old Swan area of Liverpool. And in a separate incident a 22-year-old male was also stabbed. Highlighting that we can not stop here, yesterday’s march is just the beginning of many!

We are now inviting friends locally and nationally to get in touch and together we can make a united stand and organise more marches.

For all those who have organised events similar, please contact us and we can signpost others to your event.

Together we really can make a difference!

"No to Violence"March 2008

SUNDAY, 31 August 2008 saw people from all around Merseyside and even further afield, taking to the streets in protest. A march had been organised by the National Schools Campaign, Termtime. Although this demonstration represents just Liverpool, this is a national problem of ever increasing proportions and was aimed at increasing awareness and showing the government and the powers- that- be that the people urgently wish action to be taken to deal with this issue. Termtime are lobbying for tougher sentences but also for more constructive things for young people to do as much of the negative behaviour stems from boredom. Termtime is also there to advise and runs its own magazine containing much factual information in palatable form. Their message to youngsters and also to their families is, Don’t be afraid to talk. If children can’t talk to family or schools, Termtime are willing to listen. It seeks to get people actively engaged in pursuing a solution.

It was heartening to see teenagers and young adults join those of older generations to stand up and say NO to Violence, and taking an active stance in the community. The miserable weather undoubtedly will have deterred some that might otherwise have joined the march but, despite the rain, the campaigners strode out briskly from the concourse of the Anglican Cathedral, through the city streets down to finish in Derby Square. There they, and others who had joined them, were addressed by the organisers and then, eloquently, by a lady who has suffered the tragic experience of losing a child to knife crime. She stated that raising awareness was essential and campaigns such as this did that. She exhorted all parents to talk to their children about knife crime and violence, and if their children had a knife it was their responsibility to deal with it! Schools also had a part top play, especially in relation to raising drug and alcohol awareness. We were all in this together. She commented that both victims and offenders were getting younger and younger but that the majority of young people are decent and want things to improve. It is only a small minority who seek to bully, threaten and kill. Now youths are themselves making a stand. They want violence off the streets. "You are the future", she said; she was proud of them, doing something like coming on the march, to make their voices heard - "NO to Violence!"

We also heard from Alex Holmes, now in his 20s, who was bullied himself at school but bravely decided whilst still a pupil to do something constructive about it. He sees bullying as a root cause of the escalating violence we are seeing today. We must change this culture now. After leaving school he joined with MTV in a Beat the Bully campaign, aided by Dame Kelly Holmes (no relation). The young need positive peers as visible role models to empower them. Schools could help by teaching life skills and reinforcing positive behaviour. Government should make funds available for this to be done in after-school projects too. Everyone has a part to play in tackling this problem.

Next to address the crowd was Dean Sullivan, ex-Brookside actor, on behalf of City Talk, who remarked that it was unbelievable that people were still facing bullying today but that they need not face the problem alone. The day’s meeting showed that such support was really there waiting. He later added that he was pleased to be able to help the campaign.

The meeting finished with the familiar, and appropriate, "You’ll Never Walk Alone" and there was a petition to be signed, for presentation to Downing Street.

Click here to see more photographs taken at this event.

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