WATCHING the news is one of the most depressing activities to do at the moment. The negativity is overwhelming and even for me, a journalist, the need to switch off for my mental health arises regularly. At the moment, I find broadcast news particularly distressing. The stories of people’s struggles to afford the very basics such as food and a decent, warm home have made me break out in tears more often than I thought possible. I feel ridiculous doing that as my tears aren’t going to help anyone: so I go further down the spiral of despair, wondering what on Earth I can do.

A few weeks ago, I did an interview with a French global health specialist and asked her how to not lose hope in these dreadful times, when people starve, don’t have access to clean water and health services. It is a lot to digest, she said, but to feel better, think local. Everywhere, good people are helping out, starting initiatives that are making a real difference in their communities. They may not be saving the whole world, but they certainly are heroes in their neighbourhood.

Recently, G20 Works, at the heart of the Wyndford community of Maryhill in Glasgow, gave me a reason to be hopeful. As part of the wider G20 youth project which organised a youth festival in Maryhill last year, it is an organisation supporting young people between 16 and 25 who want job and learning opportunities.

Their objective? “To enable the most marginalised and excluded young people to become confident and valued members of their community”. For this, they can count on committed, trusting adults who are giving them a safe place to develop their potential and build a good future for themselves, giving them more self-esteem and something to look forward to.

But they can find more at G20: someone to talk to, somewhere to have fun and to make friends.

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Since its creation last year, G20 Works has accompanied a dozen young people who are seeking to gain skills in a wide range of work: from beauty to cooking and washing cars, there is no lack of talent in the community the project serves.

Every Friday, the girls welcome clients who want to get their hair or nails done, have a professional make-up session, and two boys have been mentored by James, the owner of Mobile Car Valeting and Detailing Glasgow, to wash cars – and I have never seen cars so clean after a wash.

To help, check out what they are up to on their social media pages and pay them a visit, or make a donation on their website. The money you will spend will help these young people become more independent, set up their own business, and start a great adult life.

All the people I talked to in the area told me the same story: before G20 opened, there wasn’t much to do in Wyndford for the kids – just hanging about, and occasionally getting themselves in trouble. In front of the G20 unit, there used to be people drinking and fighting all the time: now it is safe and quiet.

When Emily Cutts started G20, she had in mind the prevention-led violence reduction strategy adopted for two decades by the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit. The whole world is looking at Scotland to understand how it managed to significantly reduce the level of violence especially in Glasgow, which had been branded as the “murder capital of Europe” by the World Health Organisation.

Considering violence as an epidemic that needs to be prevented through a variety of early interventions has worked extremely well: Glasgow and Scotland are much safer now than 20 years ago. It has been proven time and time again, all over the world, that prevention remains the most efficient way of reducing violence: but to reap the biggest benefits, a nation has to commit to it in the long term. It is a huge effort, but it also bears a much lower cost, humanely and economically.

The wonderful people at G20 are proof that we all have the power to help, and what we can bring to others may take many forms: giving some of your free time, making a money donation, but also, perhaps more importantly, making sure that your family and friends know they can count on you.

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This is what the grandmothers I met in this community are doing: they are holding families together, giving love and comfort to their grandchildren and their friends, worrying about their wellbeing and making sure they are looked after, even when they want to put their feet up and take some well-earned time off. They are always on the go, sacrificing themselves for others. This, to me, is just as important as being an activist in a political party or volunteering in a charity.

Looking at G20 makes me reflect on the role similar organisations have played in my childhood and early teenage years. I don’t know where I would be without La MELI, an organisation based in Issoudun, the working-class town in the centre of France where I spent the majority of my life before leaving at 17 to study. For over 40 years, it has provided the 12,000 people of this town with various activities – music and dance classes, photography and bike repairs, tai-chi and help with homework…

The philosophy of this place is a very beautiful one: “éducation populaire”. Popular education arises from communities: we learn from and empower each other. Historically in France, this concept is very much linked to the fight for free, secular education for all, and the fight against the far-right and antisemitism.

It was with La MELI that I did things and went to places that were previously inaccessible for me: horseriding, hiking in the Basque country, kayaking… It is also where I started learning English when I was eight years old.

Today, one out of six people living in the town is a member of La MELI, which receives a subsidy worth €370,000 from the socialist-led council. I don’t know a single kid from my generation who didn’t, at some point, go there to play pool, watch DVDs, learn the guitar, or just hang out.

Some of my best memories are attached to this place: it gave me a feeling of belonging and a safe space away from the trauma that I have too often experienced at home. I owe them a debt of gratitude.

This is why G20 and similar initiatives deserve a shout out: they are a welcome break in the constant gloom, a light in the dark to inspire us and save us from desperation. They are a credit to their community and need all our support. Let’s give it to them!