Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 19 minutes ago
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Two seemingly unrelated organisations are finding innovative ways to support youth in vulnerable situations, and promote community safety. Watch and listen again to this very pertinent BDAS event, where we heard from a youth boxing therapy charity from Bristol and an office for violence prevention from Edmonton, Canada – both working to reduce violence an ocean away.
Empire Fighting Chance uses a powerful combination of non-contact boxing and intensive personal support to challenge and inspire young people aged 8 to 25 to realise their unique potential. REACH Edmonton Council for Safe Communities is a non-profit agency that acts as a hub for coordination, action, and focus on community safety and well-being. (Think of them as the ‘glue’ that brings and holds collaborative partnerships together.) They’ve been touted internationally for their work as an office for violence prevention, which is an entity whose central mandate is to prevent different forms of violence.
After meeting at an urban peace conference in Columbia, the two organisations are bringing international lessons to improve support for youth in their respective cities. Now, Bristol is on the brink of creating its own office for violence prevention inspired by REACH. And in Edmonton, local not-for-profits are banding together to build a youth boxing program modeled after Empire Fighting Chance.
The panel was led by Alex Beresford, TV presenter and Empire Fighting Chance Ambassador, and included: Martin Bisp (Co-Founder & CEO, Empire-Fighting Chance); Jan Fox (Executive Director, REACH Edmonton); Dr Craig Johnston (Senior Lecturer in Criminology, UWE Bristol); and Mariella Miller-Davies (Fundraising Assistant and Youth Voice Ambassador, Empire Fighting Chance).
The event was preceded by a workshop led by Dr Craig Johnston, exploring the PRU/AP to Prison Pipeline. This brought together school leaders, teachers and academics from Bristol and across the southwest to discuss current data, myths and concerns and, crucially, some of the flexible and innovative practices being undertaken within APs.
About the organisations
Empire Fighting Chance delivers four psychologically informed non-contact boxing programmes that help young people get back into education, exit gangs, and reduce youth violence. They also share the impact and methodology of their programmes to a network of boxing clubs, mental health services, and community based organisations across the UK and the world. And, they fight alongside their network for political and policy change to reduce social inequality and amplify the impact and success of early intervention sport based programmes.
REACH Edmonton Council for Safe Communities is a highly-trusted organization in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that brings together community, service agencies and government to get things done, with the ultimate aim of preventing violence to create safer communities. REACH plays a convening role, leading or supporting more than 30+ community partnerships in areas that have an upstream effect on community safety and well-being such as child, youth and family well-being; and mitigating addiction and mental health problems.
Watch more from the Bristol Distinguished Address Series: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrOzUDjo8U6JTeJ02D-Bo_EtA47W6vG-T
Listen to the Bristol Distinguished Address Series podcast: soundcloud.com/uwebristol/sets/bristol-distinguished-address
Learn more about the Bristol Distinguished Address Series: uwe.ac.uk/events/bristol-distinguished-address-series
Useful links:
Martin Bisp, Empire Fighting Chance: linkedin.com/in/martin-bisp-0112a956/?originalSubdomain=uk
Empire Fighting Chance Team: empirefightingchance.org/who-we-are/our-people
Jan Fox: reachedmonton.ca/staff-board/jan-fox
REACH, Edmonton: reachedmonton.ca
Dr Craig Johnston, UWE Bristol: people.uwe.ac.uk/Person/CJohnston
Watershed: watershed.co.uk
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Two seemingly unrelated organisations are finding innovative ways to support youth in vulnerable situations, and promote community safety. Watch and listen again to this very pertinent BDAS event, where we heard from a youth boxing therapy charity from Bristol and an office for violence prevention from Edmonton, Canada – both working to reduce violence an ocean away.
Empire Fighting Chance uses a powerful combination of non-contact boxing and intensive personal support to challenge and inspire young people aged 8 to 25 to realise their unique potential. REACH Edmonton Council for Safe Communities is a non-profit agency that acts as a hub for coordination, action, and focus on community safety and well-being. (Think of them as the ‘glue’ that brings and holds collaborative partnerships together.) They’ve been touted internationally for their work as an office for violence prevention, which is an entity whose central mandate is to prevent different forms of violence.
After meeting at an urban peace conference in Columbia, the two organisations are bringing international lessons to improve support for youth in their respective cities. Now, Bristol is on the brink of creating its own office for violence prevention inspired by REACH. And in Edmonton, local not-for-profits are banding together to build a youth boxing program modeled after Empire Fighting Chance.
The panel was led by Alex Beresford, TV presenter and Empire Fighting Chance Ambassador, and included: Martin Bisp (Co-Founder & CEO, Empire-Fighting Chance); Jan Fox (Executive Director, REACH Edmonton); Dr Craig Johnston (Senior Lecturer in Criminology, UWE Bristol); and Mariella Miller-Davies (Fundraising Assistant and Youth Voice Ambassador, Empire Fighting Chance).
The event was preceded by a workshop led by Dr Craig Johnston, exploring the PRU/AP to Prison Pipeline. This brought together school leaders, teachers and academics from Bristol and across the southwest to discuss current data, myths and concerns and, crucially, some of the flexible and innovative practices being undertaken within APs.
About the organisations
Empire Fighting Chance delivers four psychologically informed non-contact boxing programmes that help young people get back into education, exit gangs, and reduce youth violence. They also share the impact and methodology of their programmes to a network of boxing clubs, mental health services, and community based organisations across the UK and the world. And, they fight alongside their network for political and policy change to reduce social inequality and amplify the impact and success of early intervention sport based programmes.
REACH Edmonton Council for Safe Communities is a highly-trusted organization in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that brings together community, service agencies and government to get things done, with the ultimate aim of preventing violence to create safer communities. REACH plays a convening role, leading or supporting more than 30+ community partnerships in areas that have an upstream effect on community safety and well-being such as child, youth and family well-being; and mitigating addiction and mental health problems.
Watch more from the Bristol Distinguished Address Series: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrOzUDjo8U6JTeJ02D-Bo_EtA47W6vG-T
Listen to the Bristol Distinguished Address Series podcast: soundcloud.com/uwebristol/sets/bristol-distinguished-address
Learn more about the Bristol Distinguished Address Series: uwe.ac.uk/events/bristol-distinguished-address-series
Useful links:
Martin Bisp, Empire Fighting Chance: linkedin.com/in/martin-bisp-0112a956/?originalSubdomain=uk
Empire Fighting Chance Team: empirefightingchance.org/who-we-are/our-people
Jan Fox: reachedmonton.ca/staff-board/jan-fox
REACH, Edmonton: reachedmonton.ca
Dr Craig Johnston, UWE Bristol: people.uwe.ac.uk/Person/CJohnston
Watershed: watershed.co.uk
