Inside the Edinburgh project keeping youths safe and away from Bonfire Night trouble

Bonfire Night in Edinburgh has seen increasing disorder in recent years with the capital enduring strings of firework-related incidents and vandalism.

To combat this, an Edinburgh charity runs specific diversionary youth work on Bonfire Night to keep young people safe and off the streets on one of the most chaotic nights of the year.

READ MORE - Stressed Midlothian mum on 'filling the gap' for son with additional needs

READ MORE: Surge in interest in ski holidays as third now want to learn

READ MORE: Four Edinburgh teenagers charged after Bonfire Night disorder

READ MORE - Three-car Edinburgh A720 City Bypass pile-up as emergency services race to scene

The Ripple Project specifically allocates funding for November 5 and collaborates with communities to target young people most at risk - namely young people who hang about on the streets or who have a history of offending.

Their programming has included coach trips to Livingston on Bonfire Night and other efforts to divert young people from the streets on November 5.

Danielle Ward, Youth Services manager at The Ripple Project, spoke to Edinburgh Live about the role of youth work and why their programming helps produce positive outcomes for young people on November 5 and throughout the year.

She said: “It’s like a carrot on the end of a stick. Rather than staying in an area and setting off fireworks, why not go on a trip?”

Their youth work also fosters community for young people and offers them a safe and warm space to socialise on Bonfire Night.

Danielle added: “It gives young people a positive outlet, somewhere safe to be and to hang with friends. They thrive off that.”

Sign up to Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox

One youngster from Craigentinny told Edinburgh Live that she had seen a car go into a bonfire a few years back.

She added: “Someone just chucked a firework on the car and it exploded into bits and went flying everywhere. It was quite scary.”

In areas like Craigentinny, dispersal zones are in effect around Bonfire Night. The Ripple Project also caters to young people from these areas where it can be challenging to socialise around November 5.

Danielle said: “Craigentinny is one of the dispersal zones. It’s not like you can hang out in the park with friends because you’re likely to be moved on.”

However, funding for their services has decreased in recent years with Danielle saying that their youth work programme gets “less and less” to work with on Bonfire Night each year.

Where their programming used to work with over £2,000, this year the budget had £500 pounds. Danielle said this must stretch to cover staffing, resources, and food, which limits what they want to do.

This year they were unable to run a trip on Bonfire Night.

Danielle said the trips: “Definitely helps entice them rather than inviting them to the building for pizza and to play pool - they can do that sometimes anyway and sometimes choose not to.”

She added: “The young people are still appreciative of what we put on.”

The Ripple Project is one of the charities affected by the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) funding cuts which is set to slash £4.5m of grants currently shared between 64 organisations.

Danielle said that while the charity’s youth work budget does not rely on EIJB funding, the fund helps the charity stay open.

She added that their youth work aims to support young people by playing to their strengths.

Danielle said: “They’ve all got potential. Some have been branded as a bad child because of something that happened in the community [but] actually they’ve all got something to give. They’ve all got attributes that are good. It’s about capturing those qualities. We try to target them in where their skillset lies.”