SOS Project founder Junior Smart (below) was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from University of Greenwich on 26 October in recognition of his work to tackle youth violence amongst young people.

Junior, who was employed by St Giles Trust in 2006 on his release from prison, established the SOS Project to work with young people in Southwark involved in gangs. Since this time, SOS has grown from one single caseworker to becoming a team of 30 and spreading its reach beyond the capital to help young people across England and Wales. In particular, the team have been at the forefront of helping vulnerable young people exploited as drug runners through county line activity.