Olivia Pratt-Korbel murder: Community hub became a 'safe haven'

In the days after Olivia Pratt-Korbel's murder last summer a community centre became a sanctuary for people in the area to come to terms with the tragedy.

The hub is just around the corner from where nine-year-old Olivia was fatally shot by Thomas Cashman in her own home in the Dovecot area of Liverpool.

Joanne Kennedy, who runs The Drive, spoke of a truly "harrowing" time.

She said people flocked to the centre, adding: "I think it was just about... the community being together."

Cashman was convicted on Thursday of murdering Olivia and injuring her mother Cheryl Korbel while chasing a fellow drug dealer on the evening of 22 August.

Cashman and his intended target Joseph Nee were complete strangers to Ms Korbel when they burst into their home.

"It could have been any one of us... who opened the door," said Ms Kennedy.

She said she wanted the hub, which aims to address food poverty as well as reduce social isolation and promote wellbeing, to be a safe place, particularly for children who had lost their friend in the shooting.

"Their whole lives changed - they were exposed to things that young children should never have to be exposed to," Ms Kennedy said.

"I think it was just about people being together - the community being together."

She said Dovecot, where she has lived and worked most of her life, was one of the most deprived wards in the city.

The community worker said she felt angry about the way the area was described in the national media following Olivia's murder.

Ms Kennedy spoke of the misconception that "people were protecting people who had committed these crimes".

She said: "The whole community was written off and it hurt a lot of people.

"That wasn't the experience that I had at all.

"We had people giving us information. We fed that information on to the police."

She said the tragedy had improved community relations with Merseyside Police.

"You've got a much better relationship with the police," said Ms Kennedy. "I think the community is closer.

"People see being part of gangs and drug dealing as being a way out of poverty.

"It is about working with young people to show them that there is a better way, a better life."

Days after the shooting the then Home Secretary Priti Patel visited the area and said it would allocate £500,000 for Merseyside to counter crime and provide mental health support.

The Young Person's Advisory Service in Liverpool received some of that funding.

Project co-ordinator Lorna Birrell said: "We want to make sure that people in this area feel safe.

"Early intervention and prevention services are key."

Marie Fulham has been a volunteer in Dovecot for 50 years and still runs a weekly lunch club.

She said far more money was needed.

"We're like the forgotten [ones] up here. You're just a council estate... so you don't count."

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