The Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (GM VRU) works in partnership with Street Games and community sport organisations to use locally trusted organisations as a positive route for engagement, prevention, and support. By investing in sport and physical activity in communities most affected by violence and inequality, this work creates safe spaces where children and young people can build relationships, confidence, and belonging.

Using trauma-informed, youth-led approaches, community sport acts as a gateway to wider support, reducing risk factors and strengthening protective factors such as role models, connection, and opportunity. This partnership underpins Greater Manchester’s place-based approach to violence prevention, focusing on early intervention, trusted relationships, and lasting change.

The GM Active Children and Young People (CYP) Sub-Group brings together partners from across Greater Manchester’s leisure and community organisations to coordinate, align, and strengthen work that supports children and young people to be active, healthy, and safe.

The group provides a shared space to connect strategy with delivery, ensuring that physical activity, sport, and movement contribute to wider priorities including wellbeing, inclusion, and reducing inequalities.
Through collaboration, insight-sharing, and a focus on lived experience, the sub-group sup-ports a consistent, place-based approach across GM helping partners work more effectively together to improve outcomes for children and young people.