Rachel and Leon
ASSOCIATE STORIES
Transforming the lives of young people in Newham
Due to their landlord selling, Rachel and Leon found themselves facing eviction and the prospect of having to move out of the area they love and serve as they could not afford to rent or buy in the area.
Long-term residents in council-owned properties are being moved away to make way for high-rise investment properties, meaning that the social stability required for a healthy neighbourhood is not present. Rachel and Leon wanted to be the people that stayed when others were forced to leave.
Rachel and Leon both work with young people in Newham.
Rachel is head of dance and a senior coach at KICK – an organisation that is seeking to transform young people’s lives, with God’s love, through sport and support. They do this through values-driven physical education, street dance, mentoring and chaplaincy. Rachel works with hundreds of young people each week, providing many with ongoing support when so many other things around them are constantly changing.
Leon is a teacher and mentor for excluded and vulnerable pupils. As well as providing music lessons, his main focus is supporting pupils as they reintegrate into mainstream schooling. He is passionate about helping young people overcome the rejection of exclusion, while empowering them to achieve more than the apparent limits of their education and social situation.
In 2020, Rachel and Leon became Mission Housing shared owners – enabling them to purchase a property in the heart of Newham, the community they love and serve. This was possible because of the people who lent Mission Housing a total of £150,000.
“We are grateful we didn’t have to move out of London and thankful others have helped us continue working with and supporting the young people in our London schools, in particular some of London’s most vulnerable pupils.”
