By George Palmer-Soady
The founder of a Nottingham youth charity says this winter will be ‘rough’ for people needing its support because it cannot help more than 100 vulnerable people until it moves from its current base.
Marcellus Baz BEM, the founder and chief executive of youth organisations Switch Up and the Nottingham and Mansfield Schools of Boxing, says around 150 people are currently on a waiting list to access their vital services.
Both charities aim to deter young people away from crime and support them with their mental health through mentoring, counselling, and boxing sessions.
Baz says demand for Switch Up’s services is rapidly increasing, but the charity is unable to help any new people until £260,000 is raised to kickstart the building of a new multi-million centre.
The current Nottingham base in Woodborough Road, St Ann’s, has no working heating and one room has been closed down by health and safety inspectors due to black mould.
A leaking roof and growing fungi are among other reasons why Baz is looking to relocate the organisations, previously telling Notts TV the current building is ‘uninhabitable’.
Switch Up has now put forward proposals worth £3.4 million for a new base on land owned by the city council in St Ann’s and is working to raise money.
“There’s a lot of vulnerable people needing support right now who are on a waiting list,” Baz said.
“It’s concerning because that list is growing. Services have been reduced and cut and more people are needing support.
“It feels really dark and there is a lot of tension out there.
“Now winter is coming, it’s going to get worse. My concern is there are going to be people who are going to be suffering in silence and whose who reach out for support will find there’s nothing there.”
In March 2024, Nottingham City Council approved sweeping budget cuts to social care and youth services after declaring itself effectively bankrupt.
The council said at the time it has a legal duty to set a balanced budget each year. It is something which has become increasingly difficult, having had its own funding cut by the former Conservative Government, on top of a series of financial failings.
Switch Up and the Nottingham and Mansfield Schools of Boxing take on referrals from council social care services, the county’s violence reduction unit, and schools.
Baz says his plans for the new building are being supported by around 100 local organisations and businesses, plus hundreds of people from the local community, who are all helping to fund the project, adding: “The whole of Nottingham is behind this.
“We need a sanctuary where people can get vital support and help.”
Kim Pennant, from Keyworth, says Switch Up helped her “get out of a rut” after tragic personal circumstances.
She has previously suffered from blood cots on two separate occasions that left her without the use of her legs at the time.
Kim is being mentored by the charity, to get support with her mental health, while studying at university.
“Now I’m excited for my personal journey and my future and to see other people thrive using this facility,” she said.
“I’ve got kids and as a parent, I’ve previously not known where to turn and what’s out there and I didn’t know these things existed.
“People need a place like this – it’s a safe space.”
Maxwell Beardsmore, 17, from Arnold, agrees. He goes to the centre for boxing sessions and counselling and says the charity has helped him through hard times.
“When I come here, I feel a lot better afterwards. It’s so much more than just a boxing gym – it’s a community.
“People here push you to be better and it’s a place of positivity.”
He says the charity has helped open doors for his future, including recently being cast in an upcoming film created by This Is England director Shane Meadows.
He added: “That’s definitely created an opportunity for me – I would never have applied for that outside of here but because it was presented to me, good things are now happening.
“People come here and they might have strong emotions, but they can harness those and turn it into positivity.”
