How Do We Manage?

How Do We Manage Preventing Kids From Being Groomed by Gangs?

How Do We Manage?

Show Notes

Sheldon Thomas is the founder of Gangsline Foundation Trust, a pioneering organisation that supports young people caught up in gangs. Once involved in gangs himself, Sheldon now dedicates his life to prevention and intervention; he has worked around the world to give young people a second chance through his mentoring schemes.

On this episode of How Do We Manage Sheldon tells Stephanie about his own experiences of gang life as a young man, why conversations around immigrants get in the way of the real issues at hand, what politicians are getting wrong, why prevention starts at home with positive male role models, and how parents and carers can recognise the signs that their children might be targeted by a gang.

Resources & Links

Sheldon Thomas: www.instagram.com/sheldon_st

Host: Stephanie von Bismarck

Guest: Sheldon Thomas, founder of Gangsline Foundation Trust and ST Solutions Consultancy

Producer: Holly Fisher and Tory Pope

Production Manager: Angela Crago

Executive Producer: Ellie Di Martino

The series was recorded and edited at Pod Shop studios.

Follow @HowDoWeManage

More from How Do We Manage?

Oct 12, 2026

Teaching your kids about sex can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t need to be. And in today’s world, where young children are increasingly at risk of being exposed to explicit images online, it’s never been more important.

Sep 7, 2026

These days parents are presented with a minefield of conflicting information about fad diets, portion control, fussy eaters and weaning woes. So how do we feed our children in a way that feels manageable and healthy, even when they’re either refusing dinner or are seemingly never full?

Aug 17, 2026

Have you ever been described as ‘too much’? Ever felt like your reaction was bigger than it should have been? Many of us feel emotions more deeply than others - but what if this isn’t something to suppress, but something to understand?

Aug 10, 2026

Parenting has never come with more advice than it does today. Social media is full of people claiming that their style of raising a child is the right one, commenting on everything from discipline to nutrition to education. So how do you work out what to listen to?

Aug 3, 2026

Navigating the online world for ourselves is hard enough, but trying to keep it safe for our children feels near impossible. We’ve talked a lot on the show lately about the dangers of posting pictures of our families, how children as young as three are using social media, and the sort of content that is being fed to our kids online. One thing that keeps coming up over and over is: how do we keep it under control?

See all episodes →