HARINGEY councillor Seema Chandwani is donating £1,000 of her annual allowance to support youth services which have suffered years of funding cuts.
Cllr Seema Chandwani, who was elected Labour member for West Green in December, said that the Tottenham Youth Fund will provide opportunities for youngsters and impact tackling crime which is “damaging people’s childhoods”.
Tottenham MP David Lammy has additionally urged to provide £1,000 a year to the fund that was launched this week.
The money will be used to buy equipment for youth centres and fund trips for youngsters, with up to £250 available for each project.
Cllr Chandwani said: “I felt, if I am going to take this councillor’s allowance, I have got to put my money where my mouth is.
I have been fighting for young people since the funding cuts started. I thought, I am going to be a councillor now – I have got to make a statement. For young people, this is what we have got to do.”
Cllr Chandwani, who has been working with young people since 1997, asserted it was “shocking” when the council declared a 75 per cent cut to youth services in 2011 following reductions in funding from central government.
She stated: “We had a spike of quite violent crime in 2008 and 2009. There were some young people who just needed to be signposted down to the youth centre. What we are seeing now is that that level of service does not exist. Crime has spiked again, and it damages their childhood.