Barry and Margaret Mizen spoke at Trinity United Reformed Church about how their faith has helped them through their grief.
By Peter Apps, Tristan Carlyle, Sophie Garrod and Anna Tabrah
Parents of murdered teen Jimmy Mizen called for a ‘legacy of peace’ when they visited a Wimbledon church on Wednesday.
Barry and Margaret Mizen spoke at Trinity United Reformed Church about how their faith has helped them through their grief and given them hope for the future.
They founded The Jimmy Mizen Foundation after the tragic death of their 16-year-old son to change the narrative of youth crime.
The foundation runs an apprenticeship scheme for young people and has raised funds to provide local scout groups with mini buses, affectionately named ‘Jimmy Buses’.
The couple believe that community plays an important role in the early intervention in the lives of young offenders.
Mr Mizen said: “Many young people in prison are not bad people – they have just made terrible decisions.
“As a society we have the mentality that the way to solve things is to lock people up for longer.
“If it’s retribution, then call it retribution, but it doesn’t stop these young people doing the things they do.
“We’re not doing enough early enough and that’s a responsibility for all of us.
“Youth crime is not an issue for the government or the police alone, it is an issue for each and every one of us.”
Mrs Mizen said: “What’s gone wrong is the way we treat each other. We need to bring care into young people’s lives as soon as possible.
“If things change it will be the voice of the ordinary people that drives it. We need to stand together, united.”
Referring to a ‘100 days of peace’ scheme, which promotes love and peace around the time of the Olympics, Mrs Mizen added: “Early Olympians put down their arms to take part in the games and we should continue this Olympic truce.”
The Mayor of Merton, Gilli Lewis-Lavender, agrees that youth violence needs to be tackled, adding that violent films, drugs and alcohol contribute to the problem.
“I want to concentrate on policies within schools and give the teachers more clout,” she said.
“A lot of children are allowed to run riot and that shouldn’t happen.”
One audience member, a retired policeman, claimed that the politics within the police force have made it less effective in the fight on youth crime.
He said: “They’re working with their hands tied behind their back now. There are certain do-gooders more concerned with promotions than leading from the front.”
To make a donation to the Jimmy Mizen Foundation visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/finalCharityHomepage.action?uniqueVmgCharityUrl=jimmymizen.
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