Following the violent deaths of their children and experiencing a profound need to bring something good and positive out of something bad, affected families have come together to make a difference.

E tenebris lux. From the darkness (comes) light.

ANDRE | ANDREW | BEN | DAMILOLA | DAVID | JASON | JIMMY
JOHNSON | KIYAN | KODJO | LLOYD | ROB

Jimmy’s Story

9th May 1992 – 10th May 2008 (16 years old when taken)

Jimmy Mizen was born one fine Saturday afternoon 9th May 1992. It was F.A. cup final day and he arrived half an hour before kick off. He was a beautiful baby weighing in at an impressionable 10lb 4oz.

Jimmy is from a family of six brothers, Danny, Billy, Tommy, Bobby, Harry and George, and two sisters Joanne and Samantha and a much loved nephew James. Jimmy was the second youngest in the family.

Jimmy attended St. Winifred’s infant and junior school; he really enjoyed his time there and made the first of many lasting friendships. He was an altar server at his local church Our Lady of Lourdes, where was also a member of the beavers and then the cubs. He used to have piano lessons and also enjoyed learning to play the guitar, like his brother Tommy. He was a member of Sidcup rugby club and he enjoyed playing the game and he loved the atmosphere and the comradeship of the club and the many friends he met. He was well known because of being Danny’s little brother and was proud to be called little Dan. His football team was Millwall, and although he was not as regular at matches as his brother Harry he was proud to be a supporter.

In 2003 Jimmy went to his secondary school St. Thomas More in Eltham. Although he found school work hard he enjoyed his time there and achieved well. He had many friends and earned the respect and affection of all the staff for his polite, helpful and friendly nature. Many people speak about his infectious smile and the way he could make people feel good about themselves.

He used to work with his dad on Saturdays, helping him to mend shoes, cut keys and change watch batteries. Many customers have remarked on how helpful and polite he was. At home Jimmy was his mum’s and his aunty Lyn’s odd job man, mending decorating and gardening. All of which he was good at and enjoyed doing.

He loved and was loved dearly by all his family. He was a joy to be around and could lift anyone’s spirits. He was a fine, decent, caring young man, who enjoyed life and is deeply missed.

OUT OF THE DARKNESS COMES LIGHT

The Jimmy Mizen Foundation

The Jimmy Mizen Foundation is a Registered Charity (No. 1130228) and its principal aims are:-

  • to act as a resource for young people by providing assistance and organising apprenticeship placements;
  • to provide support to various youth organisations that are committed to developing young people, to enable them to participate within the community as independent and responsible individuals.

To find out more about the Foundation please visit www.jimmymizen.org

Jimmy Bus

When Jimmy Mizen was murdered in May 2008 his family received £100 from a collection held at Canterbury University, where a friend of the family is a student. The family, knowing that the local Scout group where Jimmy Mizen attended had been raising money for a mini bus, decided to donate the money they received to support the Scouts’ cause. Donations to the family kept coming, so the family, along with friends, decided to continue supporting the mini-bus appeal.

Donations were received from hundreds of people all over the country and on the 1st May 2009 the first two buses were handed over to two local scouting organizations by Comedian Harry Hill. It is the foundations intention to continue to fund raise for more Jimmybuses

The third Jimmy Bus was recently purchased and is available for local registered charities to hire through Lewisham community transport scheme.

To find out more Go to Lewisham Community Transport scheme

Jimmy Mizen Apprenticeships

When Jimmy Mizen was 15 years old he undertook two weeks’ work experience at Leathermarket JMB, who are a sub-contractor for Southwark Council. Leathermarket JMB were so impressed with Jimmy’s character that he “opened their eyes to the potential of young people”. Because they were so impressed with Jimmy they decided to offer him an apprenticeship, which is something they have never committed to before. Jimmy was due to start this apprenticeship in September 2008 after completing his GCSE’s. However, Jimmy was never to start his apprenticeship, but as a lasting tribute to him Leathermarket JMB decided to continue with the apprenticeship and offered two young boys Jimmy’s original place, and in memory of Jimmy they are called Jimmy Mizen Apprenticeships. Because we, as a Foundation, strongly believe that in order for young people to succeed they need to be given the right start in life, we decided to continue with Leathermarket JMB’s tribute to Jimmy and now plan to organise apprenticeship placements. Our scheme is named the Jimmy Mizen Apprenticeship Scheme.

Through working with Leathermarket JMB and Lewisham College we are currently designing our scheme to be made available in a number of industries to both young men and women (ages 16-24) of all cultural backgrounds in the borough of Lewisham. We believe that in order for this scheme to work successfully we must be available throughout the Apprenticeship period (normally between two and three years) to offer help, assistance and advice in any related area to both the Apprentice and the company employing the Apprentice.

We would like to express our sincerest thanks to Leathermarket JMB for their commitment to the Jimmy Mizen Apprenticeship scheme

Awareness Project

The death of Jimmy Mizen received much media coverage; much of this coverage has been due to the inspirational response shown by Jimmy’s parents Barry and Margaret Mizen. As a society there is a perception that to be vindictive is the expected reaction. Barry and Margaret try to dispel this notion because of the damage it can do to a person. Barry and Margaret now spend much of their time in schools and prisons sharing Jimmy’s story and encourage thinking and debate on the key issues and consequences of uncontrolled anger and the use of weapons of any sort.

During their school visits they usually address years 10 and 11, although they have spoken to younger year groups and have also been into primary schools. The presentation is by way of a couple of short DVD clips followed by a description of what happened and a talk about how they have managed not to let thoughts of revenge take hold, about what a need for revenge can have on that person and the way it has the potential to act like a poison and can destroy individuals and families. They finish with a question and answer session in which they answer all questions honestly and thoughtfully however challenging. Where possible they will speak individually afterwards to anyone who was unable to share their questions openly. They recently did a presentation to a group of University students and as a result one student was able to share with all an incident in his own life he was struggling with.

They have so far visited a women’s prison, a young offenders institute and are due to visit a men’s prison shortly. As a response to their visit to the women’s prison they received a couple of letters, from inmates, both saying that after listening to Barry and Margaret they were able to let go of issues of anger with family members and had since made contact and sought to re-establish relationships.

It is not easy to continually re visit what happened to their son, but they believe it is something needed and is of great benefit to young people to think and talk about issues of anger and aggression and the question of forgiveness. They also want to aid and encourage young people to seek help if they are the victims of bullying. They are in the process of working with The Kids Task Force who provides resources for schools that deal with all areas of social problems and will specifically be using Jimmy’s story as a way of looking at issues of anger and forgiveness.

To arrange a visit from a member of Families Utd please contact us via contact us
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