Community Leaders stepping up on safety

Zola Bromley is the new Chair of the Community Leaders West Yorkshire network and the Co-Founder of Central HEaRt CIC. She said: 

“Being part of Community Leaders West Yorkshire gives grassroots organisations the chance to amplify their work through allyship and partnership.

“Together we can connect communities, strengthen voices, and ensure professionalised lived experience is shaping change across West Yorkshire.

“I will strive to ensure the network is serving as a bridge between communities and public sector partners, driving collaboration, inclusion, and measurable impact.”

Alison Lowe OBE is West Yorkshire’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime and said:

“It is great to see this programme going from strength to strength, making a real impact within our communities.

“Already, we have seen several important collaborations formed through the network and this latest group of local ambassadors can only add to that success.

“They hold the trust and confidence of local people, which is vital in changing attitudes and behaviours on big issues, like knife crime.”

Since being trained, members of the network have been involved in key programmes, including the delivery of immersive virtual reality sessions to tackle knife crime, gang culture and exploitation.

They are supporting the Mayor of West Yorkshire’s Serious Violence Strategy Consultation and working shoulder to shoulder with the West Yorkshire Youth Commission.

Likewise, they have played a key role in bringing funding for social action ideas developed by young people in Leeds and are supporting a UKind Therapy conference in October.

Deborah Jones, Programme Director of the Community Leader Programme added:

“The Community Leader Programme enhances the knowledge and skills already present in our communities.

“It builds stronger connections between public sector professionals and communities and expands the system awareness and impact of grassroots leaders.

"This ILM recognised leadership programme is an investment in local leaders and a key pillar of the Office of Police & Crime and Violence Reduction Partnership’s approach to building safer communities.”