Wirral charity founder Jean Taylor and Wirral West MP Esther McVey call for anti-gang DVD to be distributed to schools

Jan 18 2012 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

A MUM and charity founder is campaigning for a graphic anti-gang DVD to be distributed to every primary school in Wirral.

The six-minute film Wanna B In My Gang, which was commissioned by the charity Families Fighting for Justice (FFJ), shows the devastating impact on a family after one of two brothers is drawn into gang culture.

The DVD, which has already been shown in a number of schools in Liverpool, is targeted at eight to 10-year-olds.

Jean Taylor, from Greasby, who set up FFJ to support the families of murder victims after the deaths of her son Stephen and daughter Chantel, said: “We are deliberately targeting primary school children because after that it is too often too late.

“It is hard-hitting and is designed to grab the attention of the kids in a way they can relate to.

“The response in the schools where it has been shown has been fantastic.

“Now we want it in every primary school and FFJ is prepared to organise that once we get ministerial permission.”

Mrs Taylor is being supported by Wirral West MP Esther McVey, who is calling on ministers to distribute the DVD to Wirral schools.

It was recently shown to MPs in a special screening at the House of Commons.

Ms McVey said: “This is an imaginative and tough film which kids can relate to. It speaks their language in a punchy way.

“It is not a lecture but grabs the attention from the start and sends a very clear message.

“It also shows it is not just youngsters who join gangs who are at risk from violence, but their families as well.”

The cast of the DVD was drawn from an amateur dramatics group based at the Empire Theatre.

It can be viewed via the FFJ website at www.familiesfightingforjustice.org