Why Within Reach Exists: Our Mission, Our Why, and the Young People Who Deserve More

The Within Reach Project was born from both frustration and hope. Frustration at the way systems handle “challenging” young people, with more control than care, more punishment than support, and more exclusion than understanding. And hope, that even one emotionally safe interaction can shift a life. If you’ve worked with young people in care, custody, secure schools, or even mainstream education, you’ve seen it. Young women and men carrying trauma they don’t yet have the words for. Spiky exteriors hiding nervous systems that never feel safe. Reactions that look like “bad behaviour” but are actually desperate survival strategies. This project is for them. And it’s for the people working tirelessly to support them, often without the right tools, training, or emotional backup. Youth violence and criminalisation are rising. The number of children entering custody in England and Wales has started climbing again after years of decline, with Black boys and care-experienced youth disproportionately represented. Meanwhile, street crime, gang-related incidents, and youth stabbings are increasing, particularly in urban areas where austerity has stripped away youth services. Behind bars, the picture is even more concerning: A majority of young people in prison have experienced significant trauma, neglect, abuse, or exclusion from school. Rates of undiagnosed neurodivergence, mental health disorders, and emotional dysregulation are alarmingly high. Staff are overwhelmed, unsupported, and often trained more in control than in care. These aren't just statistics, they’re cries for connection, safety, and understanding. And our systems aren’t meeting them. That’s why Within Reach exists. Because emotional intelligence is crime prevention. Young people don’t need another behaviour chart. They need to understand what they feel. To learn how their body signals distress. To regulate without exploding or shutting down. To feel seen, not managed. And most of all, they need adults who can help them do this, not punish them for struggling. That’s what Within Reach is here to offer: Practical toolkits for professionals. Emotional safety tools for young people. Training, conversation, and community that’s trauma-informed, neurodivergent-aware, and human-first. We don’t rely on punishment, restraint, or “tough love.” We believe in regulation, reflection, and relationship. We’re not a quick-fix or token CPD hour. We’re building a new emotional culture across care, education, and custody, one where young people are supported, not just supervised. Because real behaviour change starts with emotional safety, not exclusion. On this blog and across this project, you’ll find: Weekly insights on trauma-informed practice. Real talk about youth work, emotional literacy, and conflict. Resources and reflections for those working with complex needs. And eventually: training, downloads, and digital products to make your job easier. If you work with young people and feel like you’re being asked to do everything except what actually works, you’re in the right place. Let’s change the culture, one resource, one training, one emotionally safe moment at a time. Because real regulation beats restraint. Understanding beats exclusion. And it’s all, always, within reach.