'Because of 20/20 Levels, I'm not just surviving I am building something meaningful'

"I was 16 but I still remember it like it was yesterday, said Samuel. There was a knock at the door and the police asked to come in. They told us my father had passed. My world stopped. I still remember what I was wearing, what was on TV. He had health issues but it was still out of the blue. Now 29, Samuel says his father's death marked him deeply."

"At school, I was regarded as a student with potential despite having ADHD, but after my dad died, I lost focus. I was prone to angry outbursts, got excluded from classes, and did badly in my GCSEs. Even so, Samuel went on to college to study business where he excelled. He graduated top of his class with distinction and was made co-head boy."

"Although he resisted gangs, Samuel was drawn instead to a cult-like church later shut down amid allegations of exploiting vulnerable young people. I found them when I was struggling to get a job and felt lost, he said. They encouraged me to cut ties with my family and move into housing they controlled. I was miserable but didn't know how to leave. It was the lowest point of my life."

Samuel was 16 when police knocked to tell his family that his father had died, leaving him shocked and deeply affected. He had ADHD and had been regarded as a student with potential, but he lost focus after the death, suffered angry outbursts, exclusions from classes, and poor GCSE results. He later excelled at college, graduating top of his class with distinction and becoming co-head boy, but he dropped out of university and became unemployed. Growing up in south-east London, he avoided gangs but became involved with a cult-like church that isolated him from his family and controlled his housing. He felt miserable until seeing friends' graduation photos and wanting the same. 20/20 Levels and five other groups tackling youth unemployment in London have been collectively granted a total of 350,000, comprising 250,000 from the Standard's Dispossessed Fund and 100,000 from Deutsche Bank, with all grants administered by The

Read at www.standard.co.uk