“Most public health programmes focus on small groups of people – I wanted to do something population-wide,” says Kevin Haywood, head of public health programmes at the Heart of Birmingham Primary Care Trust. “So I contacted the city council and suggested doing something for the whole of [the parliamentary constituency of] Ladywood, and they bought into the idea, saying ‘Let’s do it.’ ”

During the last two decades, members of the Walker family, in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, had been causing trouble for their neighbours, the council, the police and local schools. But because the issues were dealt with by separate agencies, nobody fully appreciated the cumulative impact the family was having.

Studley, in Warwickshire, is a village that on the surface has no shortage of facilities for young people; there are sports clubs, youth clubs and a leisure centre. But many local teenagers complained that the prices were too high, leaving them with little choice but to hang around the streets. Until recently, many villagers regarded them as typical of modern youngsters: hanging around and probably using bad language and being disruptive. But all that changed when a new project, pioneered by Stratford-on-Avon district council, attempted to bridge the generation gap between young and old.

An imam and prison chaplain who draws on the story of Joseph is helping inmates comprehend how their crimes affect victims Robert Bullard The Guardian, Wednesday March 5 2008

Young people and local politicians are using their mobiles to help change attitudes and share lives
Robert Bullard Wednesday July 19, 2006