Rochelle Lewis-Geary, a young girl in the heart of the East London borough of Tower Hamlets, is fighting her biggest challenge. A battle to represent the thousands of young people in Tower Hamlets, who are in dire need of a voice, of a change.
She has recently joined the ‘Young Mayor’ programme offered by the Tower Hamlets council, hoping she can take over the work of the current Young Mayor of the borough, Tahmid Hussen, and bring about and deliver change for the many young people of Tower Hamlets.
One of 14 young people, Rochelle, is fighting head-to-head in a bid to win the 2023 Tower Hamlets (TH) Young Mayor election, which will finally decide - who will be Young Mayor - she is confident that with her strong determination, strong conviction, and strong personality, she will win.
Over the past few days, she has uploaded a manifesto that holds key information about her motives and plans to create change and inspire many young people across Tower Hamlets. Rochelle has been primarily focusing her manifesto and material on three fundamental ‘pledges’ for change. Change that she believes is achievable and will support young people in the most impactful ways. The three ‘pledges’ are as follows:
- Equipping young people with the skills for career success
- Strengthening ties between schools and youth services
- Tackling youth poverty
Tower Hamlets is recognised as a deprived borough of London, and the 2021 Census revealed that 56% of children live in poverty within TH. Rochelle has recognised the prevalence of child poverty within TH, and has decided to incentivise it as one of her three manifesto ‘pledges’.
When asked about child poverty, Rochelle stated,
“I have seen many people struggling with youth poverty, and it's not something we can just sweep under the rug, it’s something that’s there. It’s an issue that we need to be accountable for and responsible for”.
Child poverty is a major issue that will be hard to tackle, but Rochelle believes it starts by:
“Just creating that culture of supporting our most vulnerable”.
She also plans to implement a borough-wide initiative of volunteering to encourage young people to become acquainted with this culture and from that point onwards, she believes the culture will grow and support the young people of TH.
Apart from tackling major issues within the borough, Rochelle plans to create equal opportunities for all young people, especially post-16, so that they will feel world-ready. She states that she would:
“Aim to do this through partnering with our local businesses in places such as Canary Wharf and even more local businesses”.
Rochelle’s ‘pledge’ will help to eradicate nepotism within employment prospects and allow for fair and equal opportunities for all young people in TH, especially the more vulnerable.
On December 4th, 2023, the election for the TH Young Mayor will start. With Rochelle’s plans to help and support TH's young people, she has a fair chance of becoming the next Young Mayor and inspiring change for many.
