Shahid Farid – Co Founder of BASIAN,

Shahid became involved in a community research project funded by the Home Office and managed by UCLAN, (University of Central Lancashire) which was carried out in 2005 in Reading Berkshire and HMP Bullingdon Prison. Into recognising drug misuse amongst BME users. Shahid’s rollercoaster life began when he first became involved in criminal activity and smoking cannabis at the age of 14 with a local gang from East Reading. He was excluded from school at the age of 15 alongside 10 other youth due to drugs.

He started using crack cocaine at the age of 17 which ultimately led to numerous arrests due to criminal activity in supporting his spiraling drug habit. He battled with a 10 year struggle with class A drugs heroin/crack cocaine use, before turning to a faith based approach at the age of 27 and leaving behind a destructive life of drugs and crime. Due to the personal life experience and a passion for helping others in similar situations to himself, set up BASIAN off the back of the community engagement research project in 2005. Now having been drug free for over 8 years, he is learned through experience as well as having completed various accredited courses in community engagement, drugs misuse and criminal activity.

Shahid has shared his expertise and has been acknowledged in various government good practice guides, along with receiving local and national awards for his work. He has partaken in numerous local and national radio and TV coverage in relation to drugs misuse, tackling serious youth violence and preventing violent extremism. On a strategic level Shahid has managed and delivered on government funded projects in Tackling Knife Crime & Serious Youth Violence and Preventing Violent Extremism. He is a selected member of the Race Equality & Diversity Scrutiny Panel at the Home Office and has spoken at regional and national conferences at the Home Office, GOSE, (Government Office South East) UCLAN (University of Central Lancashire) and at other institutes. Shahid is a social entrepreneur and continues to be driven by engaging with and working with socially excluded young people and the most vulnerable members from within our communities, in an effort to change behavior, raise aspirations and bringing about positive change, for the betterment of individuals and the wider community.

Urfan Azad – Co Founder of BASIAN,

Urfan`s Journey started as a academic when he was excepted to do a computer aided design degree at University of Luton in Bedfordshire. Urfan soon came involved in serious crime which leads to buying and selling class A drugs. Urfan life changed dramatically he was in and out of the judiciary system, police custody was his second home and he was heading to a dark place.

He dropped out of University and ended addicted to Heroin, Urfan was now on a downward spiral and did not know how it would end. In the year March 2000 Urfan was sent to Pakistan for rehabilitation and found himself in the mountains of the North-West province of Pakistan in a town called Tangier, here he received Islamic education and guidance of life. Urfan went through military exercises, and how to use weapons of war such as automatic rifles and other forms of arsenal. Urfan then was sent to Afghanistan where he was fighting on the front line with the Taliban, but did not understand why from a Heroin addict he was sent there. After returning back from Afghanistan Urfan found himself full of hate and rage for the West, and started to reject the culture in which he belong to. After receiving support from individual in the community Urfan realised that this was not the teaching of Islam. Urfan set up an organisation which helps individuals from socially excluded and hard to reach backgrounds called BASIAN.

BASIAN is a national and international award winning service which tailor makes a package to suit the individual’s needs, be it drug support, breaking the cycle of re-offending or Islamic theology. Urfan is now an advisor at a National and Local level giving advice around Islamic radicalisation, preventing violent extremism and vulnerability. Urfan has spoken at several governmental conferences and has been in many good practice guides for the government. Urfan has also worked for the BBC and most recently has done a documentary in Pakistan highlighting ‘how vulnerable individual are exploited for personal and emotional reasons’.

Yaser Mir – Senior Advisor,

A highly experienced social researcher, manager and senior specialist on all aspects of community engagement, taken leading roles in major community engagement programmes across England working with disadvantaged communities on some of the most difficult issues that can affect communities. These include community needs and public service provision around issues of drugs use, mental health, regeneration, crime and offending.

In recent years concentrated on senior roles in research, management, consultancy and teaching on the issues of violent extremism and community cohesion. The Government’s Prevent programme has been a specific focus of work and interests, undertaking a range of commissions including those for the Department for Communities and Local Government, local authority partnerships and the Metropolitan Police Service. Common to all the research, management and collaborative consultancy projects, has been the application, adaptation and development of community engagement models as a pioneering method of successfully engaging so-called ‘hard to reach’ communities on sensitive and controversial issues.

Combines a strategic grasp of policy and practice with the practical tools required to conduct and drive forward multi-dimensional projects with an array of partners, both statutory and voluntary/community, on the ground. In addition bring to bear direct experience as national lead on major community engagement programmes on substance misuse and criminal justice, commissioned by Department of Health and Home Office together with associated teaching, consultancy and team management/supervision across England.

Also have a wide range of publications and good practice guidance in the above areas. A regular contributor and speaker at conferences at home and abroad and hold a number of professional positions in community, voluntary and statutory sectors.

Volunteers

After individuals are engaged through the BASIAN outreach program and supported through the mentoring scheme. They have an opportunity to become volunteers and help the wider community. This approach is unique to BASIAN delivery and is known as ULA (User Led Approach), it has numerous benefits which include self development for the individual who becomes a volunteer, raising aspirations and self-confidence and giving a individuals a sense of self belonging and self worth. It also has wider community benefits in breaking the cycle of re-offending, reaching out to other individuals who are not accessing support, and making our communities safer. Different individuals will have the opportunity to go through the volunteering scheme before progressing on and giving others opportunities to become part of the BASIAN ULA volunteer scheme.