Spotlight is Poplar HARCA’s award winning youth service based in Tower Hamlets.

We offer welcoming, safe spaces for 11–19-year-olds and for SEND young people up to 25, from London and beyond.

Our fully funded programmes aim to inspire and are co-produced with young people.

Our team of talented and dedicated youth workers work alongside local and national partners. Each play an essential role in Spotlight’s diverse community.

Before we opened our doors in 2014, we made 1,600 individual youth consultations to create Spotlight youth space, our award-winning flagship centre in Poplar, Tower Hamlets.

Create with us: hello@wearespotlight.com

Our outstanding achievements:

  • Engaging with 14,500 young people (start of 2024)
  • Engaging with 1800 young people via preventative outreach work (start of 2024)
  • Health Spot –  puts young people in control of their healthcare. Our GP service in a youth space and supported by specially trained youth workers.
  • Our Record Label Spotlight Sounds. In collaboration with Sony Music & Apple Music and Spotify, BBC 1Xtra, GRM Daily and Resident Advisor to develop and launch up and coming artists. Including several released singles and two albums.
  • Artists have performed at Community Festivals, live events and All Points East.
  • Young people designed with Dulwich Picture Gallery, London College of Fashion and costume designer Lesley Ford to create garments inspired by the gallery’s paintings
  • Wash Out Hate Campaign for National Hate Crime Awareness Week
  • The Youth Empowerment Board
  • Diploma in Sporting Excellence
  • Expanding our service across 4 satellite sites
  • Agile response to the pandemic delivering remote youth work and GP service sessions. Overall, to 1,040 young people online and 4657 one-to-one calls. With 564 meals delivered in partnership with Kidz Cafe during the first summer lockdown.
  • Limehouse Boxing Academy has young boxers on team GB, gain sporting qualifications and raise awareness with their KO Racism campaign.
  • We’ve hosted dance events like #SpotlightsUp with Urban Interface Dance UK. In collaboration with our resident dance partners IMD Legion, One Youth Dance and Boy Blue ENT.
  • Leaders in youth work research: Creative Youth Work Report / HEAL Research study. In collaboration with Queen Mary University
  • Our Spotlight film celebrating 5 years
  • Mayor of London Sadiq Khan saw young talents perform at Spotlight in 2018
  • The Wellbeing Ambassadors Pilot Project in year two, currently being delivered in eleven Secondary Schools across Tower Hamlets.
  • Spotlight Talks has given young people space to ask questions to prominent community leaders and the Metropolitan Police
  • A consortium partner for the Mayor of London’s VRU, Violence Reduction Unit.
  • A 50/50 male to female ratio of our service users.
  • Most importantly we have created safe spaces for young people in Tower Hamlets for 10 years, and counting.