About What We Do

Always an Alternative stand

We are a charity, created with the ultimate aim of challenging the mindset of young people, supporting them, to make well informed, positive life choices, both in the short term and empowering them to maintain these skills for life. Our organisations aim is to spread awareness around reducing knife crime, gun crime, gangs culture and anti-social behaviour; what we call, current risks to youths. We achieve this by using alternative ways of education to engage the youthful minds of today; inform, mentor and support them with the challenges that they may come up against.

Watch our documentary to see how we started.

Where

Most of our work is focussed in and around Yorkshire. However, our reach is National with podcasts, documentaries and other projects.

How We Help Services

We offer a wide range of educational services that challenge the mindset of young people, parents and professionals around current risks to youths: knife crime, gang culture, antisocial behaviour.

Covering how to spot the risks and how to approach them. Additionally, the years of lived experience and current work allow for a thought provoking and action prominent guest speaking experience.

What People Say Our Reviews

"Thought provoking"
"Anthony is very passionate about what he does, it reflects through his work. The young people can see it too, they take a shine to him"
"Listen mate, what you did in there was great. How you keep the kids engaged that long, while talking about a serious matter was excellent"
"A must for young people at hight risk"
"They are probably 6 of the worst behaved kids in there, anybody walking past wouldn't believe it"
"Staff and residents really appreciated your very relevant workshop"

Weapons AMNESTY BINS AND COLLECTIONS

We currently have 8 weapon amnesty bins placed around South Yorkshire. If you cannot find one, we offer a free knife/weapon collection and disposal service in South Yorkshire.

Our volunteers work to reduce knife crime by safely collecting weapons in an agreed location - while following police guidelines and documenting all collections.

Resources Our Information Booklet

Our work with people that have felt the impact first hand of serious youth violence has enabled us to gain great knowledge on the issues. Giving greater depth, the engagement with young people and their feedback, means that we are able to think about the issue from the young person's point of view. So, we thought it would be useful to combine the two points of view and collate information into a booklet for your use.

Join Us Projectz

We have some fantastic news for you all. Our determination and past successers to make a difference means we can continue to provide support within different projects.

If you want to get involved or your child maybe interested, drop us a message.

Make a Difference Get Involved

Have you, a family member or friend of someone been affected by knife crime or gun crime? Then we would love to hear from you. Not only us, but the young people we work with. We have an excellent project that has been found to help grieving and you will increase the chances of saving a young people's life.

If you have been involved in knife crime, gun crime or a gangster we want your story to be heard. There will be a young person somewhere that will hear your story and decide against taking the wrong path. Maybe you could help them realise that there is always an alternative!

About Me Meet the Founder

Our Founder Anthony is the creator of Sheffield's most successful anti-knife crime campaign #KEEPSHEFFIELDSTAINLESS. The campaign is has reached over 200 students up to date. To help increase our reach to young people nationwide we will be using the campaign to ensure success. Find out more on what we offer here: www.keepsheffieldstainless.co.uk.

Anthony - Always an Alternative

I'm Anthony, the founder of Always An Alternative. I created this charity to help young people, to help educate them on life choices. I didn't have the best up bringing and started out on the back foot. Due to a lack of role models, I unfortunately looked up to the wrong kind of people. This led me down the wrong path, but I didn't have anyone telling me what was wrong from right so I presumed it was right. But I didn't like it, I did not like the feeling, I wanted to change.

So I went to University and studied Computer networks. The hardest result I got was when I was told I was dyslexic. So I went away, researched it and taught myself how to learn. It must have worked because I finished with a 1st, went on to complete my Masters in advanced computer networks and got a distinction (The highest mark in the class). I also created two businesses whilst I was at university. But I digress, all of my journey taught me one thing: there's always an alternative.

2019 Make a Difference Award
2021 National Diversity Award
2022 Points of light (Prime Minister)
2022 High Sheriff of Yorkshire

Extend Our Help Make a Dontation

As a non-profit organisation any donations would be extremely beneficial and we would be very grateful. Not only will it allow us to extend our help to an abundance of people YOU directly will be helping achieve our goal in reducing youth violence making the streets safer for all. So please any donation would be welcomed, thank you.

One Knife Many Lives

out now One Knife Many Lives

One Knife Many Lives captures the hard-hitting story of those who feel the devastating impact of knife crime. Through personal experience and engagement with victims, the author gives you an insight into the challenges that many young people face depicting the brutal realities, while highlighting depression, domestic abuse, and suicide. Although this book is fictional, the dangers of knife crime are VERY REAL.

All profits from sales will be donated to our cause, tackling issues explored in the book.

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