He may be just 22 years old, but Yasin is already one of ConnectFutures’ key youth facilitators and mentors. From his early days in a kebab shop in Essex, to now running a youth club and getting ready to begin a Masters Degree in Mental Health and Psychology at the University of Birmingham, his lived experiences put him at the forefront of spotting emerging trends and tensions – often before they hit the headlines.
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A conversation with Professor Lynn Davies
The backstory: From the Kebab Shop to the Youth Club
Yasin grew up in Essex ‘where there was not much opportunities happening’. Born to an English mum and a Turkish dad, he found himself working in a kebab shop, doing 14-hour days from the age of 13. This taught him a lot- not just about people, dialogue and a fast-paced working environment but also how hard it was for immigrant people coming to the UK. But Yasin reckons he has been given good cards: he learnt from his experience at the shop, took life seriously and tried to do well in school.
His first job interview after Year 11 was for youth work with the YMCA; the interviewer ‘believed in him’ and soon he was involved in providing opportunities to young people. Some of his peers took a different direction: not going to college, selling drugs. Many going through tough mental health challenges, self-harming and some even suicidal. Yasin chose a different path, taking on college while also working part-time. At that point, university ‘was foreign to me’ and he didn’t know about degree apprenticeships; only six or seven peers from his year group went to university. Nonetheless, a friend convinced him not to stay in Essex, making money on a short-term basis, and instead, to ‘make something of himself’ long-term. He enrolled on a Criminology course at Birmingham City University. Why? He thought the modules were interesting.
Yasin was learning a lot of ‘theoretical stuff’ about crime and found a lot of it matched with what he saw around him. Nevertheless, on the course, a key component, the practical element, felt absent. So he started to volunteer. He chose a local, community based youth club, Dream Chaser, based in inner city Birmingham which serves a very young, diverse demographic. After some time they offered him a job, running a support service providing mentoring and activities for young people, and later went on to run a project tackling youth violence for those aged between 10 and 16. He now works with ConnectFutures as a facilitator, delivering programmes on financial harms, fake news, racism, misogyny, gang violence and more.
“In a world where everyone wants, we need to show people what they need to make something of themselves. In a world where few care, we must show young people we care.“- Yasin
Yasin, you’re only 22. How has your background helped you think about the reasons for youth violence today?
“I was the biggest in my year group at school. I worked in the kebab shop, everyone knew me. If they didn’t, I knew their older sibling or cousin. After a couple of fights, I ‘cemented’ my position in the school and was ‘respected’. It gave me real-life lessons based on my very lived realities.
I wasn’t involved in knives. When people had issues with each other I tried working it out- without weapons. The issue now is that young people get more confrontational. They don’t know how to manage their emotions and act based on in-the-moment feelings. A lot of young men I work with feel if they’ve let something slide, it affects their status – they are weak, they don’t get the girls, they are poor. Our society makes them feel bad about being poor especially. It pushes materialism to the max. So, there is hyper insecurity, around not having more. You mix confrontational children with a range of insecurities, particularly financial, and you get outbursts of youth violence back on our streets. You mix in exploitation, mental health issues and relationships, you get some quite dangerous mindsets. Look at what happened to that 15 year old girl In London – died over a break up. Tragic stories in every ward, community and locality are part of the everyday.
The line is so thin, the smallest insult, the smallest taint to their reputation. Young people don’t know how to deal with situations they find themselves in, let alone the consequences. Young people are generally not self-aware, this leads to many following ideas and concepts blindly, especially if parents have not mentioned them before.”
Is this the same for girls?
“A lot of young people are not comfortable with themselves, especially our girls. So many I’ve mentored have extremely low self-worth. This also means it’s easier for them to tolerate certain behaviours as long as it validates them. I’ve seen girls get coerced to hold drugs, weapons, and go to different cities. They think ‘it’s calm’. The adultification of kids has them making significant decisions completely blind. When kids are treated as adults, a lot of the time they don’t see the consequences of their decisions.”
Sexism, misogyny, male violence, Andrew Tate-esque influencers are some of the big issues we’ve heard you address. What’s your take on how to talk to young people about this?
“These types of figures have pushed out this ‘grind culture’: that young men have to make as much money as possible at whatever cost. They have commodified women as a reward for a man with money and status, and told them that most women will only desire you if you have these things because it shows you’re ‘high value’.
Ironically this movement validates men for sleeping around but demonises women when they do the same as ‘low value’. This labelling of high and low value based on materialism can mean men feel entitled to women, almost like a transaction, and that an average hard-working man doing a 9-5 is not worth any attention and is considered a ‘normie’.
Although disguised as self-help, a lot of the concepts are toxic and do not explore the real aspects of masculinity. They prepare men for materialistic relationships and a black-and-white view of the world. These influencers have demonised the word normal, often acting as hypocrites to their own advice.”
“They have commodified women as a reward for a man with money and status, and told them that most women will only desire you if you have these things because it shows you’re ‘high value.”- Yasin
So, what can parents and schools do?
“Parenting is a tough job. And parents have to take responsibility. Your child needs to know how to handle confrontations, peer pressure and they need to be validated by you. You can’t give them a phone at 11 and think you’ve done the hard part. I understand parents are stretched, many work two jobs and still struggle with the cost of living. But being a parent takes effort and I’ve seen a lack of effort in a lot of situations. (Yasin worked with parents as a Youth and Family Intervention Officer too). That’s not about blaming parents or saying this is the magic bullet but it’s about knowing, learning, staying close to our young people too.
For schools, it’s knowing that a good proportion of students are more vulnerable than others and the sooner you can identify them and give support, the better. Encourage flourishing – stop mentioning the problem and do alternatives. Students need people who are relatable. You have great teachers and others who push young people away- you wouldn’t have a mentor shout at a child so why a teacher?
But there is no one solution, no model. There is always crime. Some enjoy that lifestyle- know nothing else! But it’s getting kids to think about the consequences of their actions playing out in ten years time. You’re making £200 a week now for something that will hinder you from making upwards of £2-3k a week in a high-paying role in business, or a chance to live in other countries. And it’s not just about a record, it’s the mindset – I’ve seen a significant lack of life skills because of time away from society.
How are we engaging youth? You could design an intervention around money, getting kids thinking about money at different age stages:
- What is the natural progression of wealth in life?
- Where is wealth?
- How do you access it?
- When do you access it?
- Who has wealth?
- What is generation wealth?
- Financial literacy, businesses, work experience, connections?
- What opportunities do you have to make wealth in the next 2/3 years?”
Do you think that working with young people has changed you?
“When I was working with Dream Chasers, I was still 19 and the kids there were 13 or 14 year olds. I was the closest to them in age and I understood what was going on in their lives. I was going through changes myself. In 2023, I got involved in a project on youth violence, put my degree on hold for a year, trying to make changes to children’s lives. I moved away from the University community and decided my life would be in the actual locality. I wanted to do more! I believed in the project. It was a blessing for me. When you work with the community you have to take responsibility more than anything else. Being a Muslim in Essex was hard (there were hardly any of us). I didn’t know a lot about my religion, but I grew spiritually in this city (Birmingham) as the community helped me realise its importance. We have a saying: our ummah (community) is like a body. When one part is unwell, we are all unwell.”
Do you have other recommendations for trainers, facilitators and mentors?
“They need to see the bigger picture – it’s not just education. Parents need to be aware of what the government is doing with their field and how it has changed from when they were young. I had good advice that if you want to do something, trust your gut – learn how to navigate certain restrictions such as budget cuts and resources. It’s important not to stay in your bubble.
In Birmingham, one of the most youthful cities in Europe, almost 40% of the population is under the age of 25 and only a quarter of young people in the West Midlands feel they have the support they need to succeed. The highest rate of knife crimes occur in Birmingham and the West Midlands region (higher than in London!) and preventative solutions seem absent. Youth services are decimated. I advise young people to speak to stakeholders.
“We have a saying: our ummah (community) is like a body. When one part is unwell, we are all unwell.” – Yasin
But it’s also for youth workers and teachers to make sure that we network and stay well connected and aware of opportunities to put young people on to. If we stay in our bubbles we won’t see what’s really happening in the environments young people are in. When we don’t understand youth culture, we can’t be effective in our work.
You need to go out at night and see what is ingrained in society. Those living in the community see what is happening. When did you last have a conversation with a young person about what was happening in their life? Just speak to them in their community- the church, the gurdwara, mosque, synagogue, the youth club, the corner shop- and joke with them.
You need realism about young people’s involvement with financial crime particularly with a cost of living crisis. This is very prevalent among young people – for example scamming old people – and their peers – for money. It’s often viewed as a victimless crime as it’s done on your mobile and not seen as robbing someone! One kid I worked with had been involved with the criminal mafia, chasing him for money, getting him involved in money laundering. If a young person has 50 grand, you can’t tell him how to live his life. You need new methods when working with kids, who are making money on multiple fronts – robbery, drugs. Kids putting money in their bank account, making money from an early age. Understand that to them, money laundering is attractive – they are told to look after 7/8 grand, and keep one grand for themselves.
In a recent study, Cifas and UK Finance found that 61% of all reported money mule cases involved people under 30, with almost a quarter (23%) involving those under 21.
The most important thing is early intervention. Nip this in the bud before it even gets to that point. That could look like teaching financial literacy, educating about fraud, citizenship and how we should treat each other in a society.”
So what is the future for you?
“Me and my friends have opened our own youth club, in partnership with the local mosque. It’s called The HotSpot. We recently had our first HAF (Holiday Activities and Food) programme in December 2024 where over 200 young people attended. We have basketball, football and mentoring- I might even think about starting rugby soon! We have both girls and boys volunteering to keep the place active. That is what I love about where I live and my community – I see it. It’s alive and we’re changing it.”
Do you have any final words?
“In a world where everyone wants, we need to show people what they need to make something of themselves. In a world where few care, we must show young people we care.”
If you want to learn more, reach out to us.
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