He has now turned his life around
At the age of just 13, Jahlil Kumar got arrested in school. He was in Year 9 when CID walked through the school gates to speak to him.
“My life started to collide a bit and sometimes I would be going in thinking about all the stuff that was happening outside of school and that same feeling would channel into school and made me start to lose focus and not want to be there. That caused me to start acting out, to be honest – I wasn’t going to my lessons, I was messing about, smoking weed, all sorts.
“Things started to change when I met my support worker Stephen last year as I had a referral after I got stopped in a car with a friend. Nothing crazy happened, but Stephen helped me open up my eyes to a lot more that goes on in the world as the way I was going wasn’t going to do me any good. “The first thing I did was build a relationship and he came in bouncing full of energy and you could see he had charisma. Since meeting, we’ve done an assessment and set an intervention plan up, and then we started to work with his school and had meetings with them to tackle issues.
“These youngsters just need to know that someone believes in them and supports them through good and bad and in the end, you’ll see he’s turned into a diamond.” The hard work has paid off - and Jahlil is now the proud owner of an award - The Lyrico Steede Award – named after the Bulwell teenager who was murdered in 2018.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Scots schoolboy who started sweetie business in bedroom set to earn thousandsSol has made £700 in just one month - meaning he'll make nearly £8,500 this year if sales continue at that rate
Read more »
Boy, 5, killed in bus crash named by policeBREAKING: Tributes have been paid to a five-year-old boy who was killed in a bush crash in Glasgow.
Read more »
Boy, 5, killed in bus crash named by policeBREAKING: Tributes have been paid to a five-year-old boy who was killed in a bus crash in Glasgow.
Read more »
New searches as Yorkshire schoolboy still missing 18 days after disappearanceConcern is growing for the welfare of 15-year-old Aston Rhodes who was reported missing on March 23
Read more »
Floral tributes on Glasgow street for 'beautiful' little boy killed in bus crashCuddly toys and flowers have been laid for the schoolboy who died after being knocked down by a bus on Tuesday while a nine-year-old girl was rushed to hospital.
Read more »