Parents of murdered Reading schoolboy support youth hub plan
Stuart and Amanda Stephens are raising money for a place where young people can be offered a safe space and support
Last updated 18th Mar 2023
The parents of Olly Stephens - the 13-year-old boy fatally stabbed hear his home in Emmer Green - are raising funds for a youth hub in Reading town centre.
Olly was ambushed and attacked by two 14-year-old boys who were found guilty of his murder, while a 14-year-old girl pleaded guilty to his manslaughter.
Despite their grief Stuart and Amanda Stephens have become campaigners to protect young people from the dangers posed by social media and knife crime.
They're supporting No5 Young People - a youth counselling charity in Reading - and their plans to open a permanent youth hub to provide support services and a safe space for young teenagers.
Stuart told us what his hopes are for the hub:
"The overall aim is to have a hub in Reading which any child can get to, that costs money you need to pay staff you need to train staff you need a building to be a central which children know is a safe space, again we feel committed to helping them (No5) because of the outstanding work they do.
"The most important thing for me is they (the young people) put their phones down and they are messing around and they are laughing and joking even if its for just two hours a week it's a pressure release cos of all the external stuff they're dealing with I mean they deal with so much so young these days, it's criminal, they're children and they should be allowed to be children."
The couple have already helped raise more than six thousand pounds towards the project and they are supporting a fundraising gala being held by No5 next month to raise more money towards the hub.
Stuart says he and Amanda are determined to keep campaigning despite the pain of having Olly taken from them. Stuart said:
"You just feel driven to keep going and it is exhausting but you don't give up on your children even if they're not physically here you don't give up and if we can help one child not to take a knife from the kitchen drawer then we've achieved something."
How to support the hub
The Reading Young People's Hub fundraising gala takes place at the Hilton hotel in Reading on Saturday 22nd April - details are here booking info here