“My battle to reduce knife crime will never stop”
Grieving mum Sarah Lloyd hopes her new short film will teach young people the tragic consequences of carrying knives
A Leeds mum left heart-broken after her teenage son was murdered has channelled her grief into raising awareness of the dangers young people face if they carry knives.
Sarah Lloyd, now a postgraduate student at Leeds University, has joined Vilson Duarte-Dong – an ex-offender who has turned his life around – to launch a short film warning young people of the tragic consequences.
Cut Short – Fighting Knives in the North was produced by Tell Studio. The company has worked closely with Sarah for the past couple of years to make the film.
The film features Sarah’s story about her 17-year-old son, Kieran who died after being stabbed in an incident in Leeds a decade ago over a £100 drug debt.
In the wake of that tragic incident, Sarah felt a desperate need to drive home a message in schools about the consequences of carrying a knife; something young people are doing in increasing numbers.
Sharing Sarah's story
She teamed up with Vilson, a former gang member, now a graduate of Leeds Beckett University, who aspires to be a restaurateur. He helps her deliver focus groups and talks to young people across West Yorkshire.
Sarah started delivering her work straight after her son’s murder trial in 2013, initially with young offenders convicted of carrying knives, in an effort to confront them to make a positive change in their lives.
She went on to work within schools to continue educating young people on the consequences of knife crime through the Safer Leeds Community Policing initiatives.
Then, in 2016, she decided to go to university to gain the academic insight she felt she needed to complement her lived experience.
So, with that in mind, she signed up for a foundation degree course at the University of Leeds with support from the Lifelong Learning Centre, which helps adults from a range of backgrounds get back into education.
The following year, after completing the foundation course, she was offered a place on a degree course in professional studies. This, she felt, would give her the in-depth research and analysis skills she needed to create the learning resources that she still uses today within schools.
One of those learning resources is an audio book called Life Without Kie. This was her nickname for her son.
Traumatic loss
“I continue to deliver talks and workshops because I want to prevent other families living through the pain and trauma that I’ve experienced, and still do on a daily basis,” she said.
“I produced the audio book so young people could connect with and understand the devastating impact of living with traumatic loss. It is narrated through the eyes of a family dog so young people can engage with and understand loss from a third person perspective.”
Life Without Kie is available to buy as an e-book and audio book on Amazon, but she also made it available on YouTube so young people can access it at no cost.
Meanwhile, she has submitted the documentary film Cut Short to the International Leeds Film Festival, which opens in November.
This film seeks to raise awareness of knife crime, gang crime and criminal exploitation of young people. Sarah says she intends for the film to be distributed free of charge to schools and colleges.
“The final film is designed to fit into an hour’s teaching session, hence the 30 minute duration,” said director Owen Seabrook.
“For me, I’d love to see feedback from young at-risk people that shows that this film has made them feel empowered and knowledgeable enough that they feel confident to start taking positive steps.
“A lot of young people are just looking for guidance and support, and gangs exploit that for their own aims. But that support is out there, and there’s no reason anyone in this country should feel like it isn’t accessible to them.”
Production was crowd-funded through the Kickstarter platform, but it also received a £1,800 contribution from Greater Manchester's Violence Reduction Unit (VRU).
“The film is a really powerful way of showing the real impact of knife crime and exploitation on young people, families and communities,” said Damien Dallimore, the VRU's director.
“Projects like this one play an important role in creating discussion and educating young people and communities on the realities of serious violence.”
Long, hard journey
Sarah, a mother of four and grandmother of six children, is currently studying her MA in social research at the university's School of Sociology & Social Policy.
Alongside her studies, she works as a Student Ambassador on campus. She has delivered work as part of a larger initiative with Leeds United Foundation’s Positive Choices programme, which aims to help people make better choices about their lives and futures.
She outsourced some of her resources so they could continue delivering her message while she took time to study.
Her dissertation will explore girls’ roles in gangs and criminal exploitation of youth to further her in-depth knowledge.
“It has been a long, hard journey,” she said, “but education has been part of my life for several years now, and I will continue to share my experience for the greater good, even though at times it has emotionally taken its toll on my mental health.
“My battle to reduce knife crime will never stop.”
MC
First published on Mark Cantrell, Author, 9 October 2023