London Boxing Project Founder Honored for Community Work

January 4, 2019

A former London gang member who runs boxing classes to draw young people away from crime, has been recognised in the prestigious UK New Year Honours list.

Stephen Addison, who has been awarded the British Empire Medal, says he was prompted to turn his life around by a bad dream in which he saw himself end up in prison.

His organisation, Box Up Crime, now works with about 600 young people every week in schools, pupil referral units and community centres mainly in the neighborhoods of Barking and Dagenham and is looking to expand across the capital and beyond.

The project uses boxing training, along with individual mentoring and a focus on education, to develop self-discipline and boost educational and social skills. They deliver their tailored sessions to schools, pupil referral units and community centres across London.

In their weekly sessions, they offer “a foundation of discipline through engaging boxing training, educational programmes and mentoring, providing young people job opportunities and apprenticeships as a stepping stone to their future."

Since 2013 Stephen has helped more than 4,000 young people change their lives. He was a keen boxer himself until the age of 15 when he says he was distracted by gang culture in his neighborhood.

His behaviour deteriorated to the extent that he was asked to leave his school in Barking, East London, and for the next five years, made a living through crime. But, he says, a "random dream" one night changed his life - he was so shocked at the idea that he might commit murder that he was determined to change. 

Article originally published on BBC News.