Where we work
The Rugby Portobello Trust is based in North Kensington, an area of west London that is rich in history, culture and a sense of community. It is also an area identified as having some of the highest levels of income inequality across the UK, according to research published by the Trust for London. Consequently, there are higher than average levels of violence and crime, as well as substance misuse, unemployment, childhood poverty and 'working poverty'.
The community was devastated by the fire at Grenfell Tower in 2017, and many members of the local community have seen their standard of living and mental health drastically decline as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ever-increasing costs of living.
To read more about the issues currently facing those in our community, please see the research Poverty + Prosperity produced by our partners at The Kensington and Chelsea Foundation.
To better understand the area in where we work and the needs of the children and young people in our community, please see these important resources:
- Meeting Children and Young People’s Needs: a 2018 report by The Rugby Portobello Trust and JusticeStudio.
- Poverty and Prosperity in Kensington & Chelsea: Understanding Inequalities in a Borough of Extremes
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation, UK Poverty 2022: The essential guide to understanding poverty in the UK
- Youth Voice Census Report 2021
- Nuffield Trust: The pandemic has driven unprecedented surge in demand for mental health services for children and young people