Street Belonging: Violence, Connection and Healing

Street Belonging: Violence, Connection and Healing

A powerful, eye-opening, and at times emotional event providing a social history of Scottish gang culture with a current focus.

Through the lived experience of Guest Speaker, Graeme Armstrong, the conference will explore the allure of gangs, street violence, weapon carrying, permanent exclusion, substance abuse and the transformative power of leadership, compassion and the fundamental role educators played in his life.

The work of inspirational figures Karyn McCluskey and John Carnochan, formerly Strathclyde Police, and trauma consultant, Alastair Ireland, will also be examined while considering the importance of early-years nurture, understanding Scottish masculinity and the devastating consequences of knife violence.

Graeme will end looking at the case study of Homeboy Industries, started by Father Greg Boyle in LA, the largest gang intervention in the world. Their organisation was part inspiration for Scotland’s ground-breaking ‘Violence Reduction Unit’.

Guest Speaker - Graeme Armstrong

Graeme is a Times bestselling author from Airdrie. His teenage years were spent within Scotland’s ‘young team’ gang culture. After studying English as an undergraduate at the University of Stirling, he completed a Master’s in Creative Writing and is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Strathclyde. His debut novel, The Young Team, is based upon his experiences and was published in 2020. Most recently, he wrote and presented a BBC series on Scottish gang culture, Street Gangs, available now on BBC iPlayer. In 2023, he was named one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists, a once-in-a-decade literary honour.

Venue

The conference will be held in The Chester Hotel (Granite Suite 1), with arrival from 4.30pm for a 5pm start. A Q&A session will be held before the conference ends at approximately 6.30pm. Refreshments will be provided. Limited parking is available at the Hotel, with parking also available in the nearby surrounding streets.

Please note that this event is for Over 18s only due to the hard-hitting nature of the topics covered.