Until last summer Helen Newlove was an ordinary mother-of-three, living quietly with her family on an unremarkable estate.

However, in August her husband Garry was attacked outside their home and Mrs Newlove and her three daughters became the latest victims of the kind of senseless crimes which seem to be making headlines with increasing regularity.

Yesterday, after Adam Swellings, Stephen Sorton and Jordan Cunliffe were convicted of his murder, Mrs Newlove spoke of her devastation, her words resonating with a country increasingly appalled by the apparently downward spiral of violence, binge drinking and antisocial behaviour.

The bare facts of Garry Newlove's death – he was repeatedly kicked and punched after challenging the three teenage vandals drunk on cheap cider and high on cannabis, and died 36 hours later with the imprint of Storton's trainer still on his forehead – made uncomfortable enough reading, but when it emerged gang leader Swellings had been released on bail from Warrington Magistrates' Court just hours before the attack, the death of the devoted family man seemed even more avoidable.

As her husband's killers await sentencing, Mrs Newlove has criticised the Government's inability to get a hold of a generation out of control, and questioned the decisions of the magistrates, but it was her words of common sense about parental responsibility which gave a voice to thousands of others who routinely wonder why youngsters are allowed to roam the streets looking for nothing but trouble.

"Parents should take responsibility for their children," she said.

"Garry and myself have brought up three girls together to respect other people and to be at home, not walking the streets, causing damage and intimidating other people by drinking and using abusive language."

Her emotional statement started a flood of calls to radio phone-ins from members of the public praising her strength and congratulating her decision to speak out as a call to arms to those who place the blame for society's ills at someone else's door.

The idea of personal responsibility as the key to change is something social entrepreneur Andrew Mawson has long been a proponent of, so much so last year his efforts to regenerate communities were rewarded with a life peerage.

"It's all very well saying the council or the Government should do X,Y,Z – and likely that they won't or won't do it very well," says Lord Mawson, a former GPO worker. "When are you going to take responsibility?"

In 1984, he arrived at run-down Bromley-by-Bow in London as a minister and before long had transformed it, by working with the locals, establishing a community centre providing healthcare and education, creating jobs and generating wealth to be put back into the area. Four years later he established the Community Action Network which encourages communities to get involved in their own futures by engaging them in planning and implementation and helping them with advice, support and resources to create self-generating projects.

"Jamie Oliver didn't write a policy plan when he started his school dinners campaign," he says. "He spoke to dinner ladies, got in the kitchen and got his hands dirty and it spiralled from there. It's that kind of culture we want to encourage. There are many people out there who care and who have great ideas and enthusiasm. Don't be put off because you think you are not qualified enough or rich enough or famous enough to have an impact. The biggest journeys all start with the smallest step."

"People often think they are just one small voice in the wilderness, but if you can gather people around you, ideas can grow."

While the issues surrounding the death of Mr Newlove are complex, the idea of community action is gathering pace. Lord Mawson believes there are multiple benefits in moving away from the culture of Government handouts and instead encouraging individuals and groups to come up with their own ideas of what projects would be good for their area.

Self-sufficient projects can often generate business, employment and profit – the latter to be ploughed back into the community. It is a plan that has often been applied in the Third World, but not so often in our own back yard.

"The maxim would be, give a man a fish and feed him for a day. teach him to fish and you can feed him for life," he says.

"We now live in an enterprise culture. A few decades ago people could expect a job for life with a large pension at the end of it to support them but that is not the case now. By teaching young people these skills we can not only build their self respect, teach them useful business acumen, make them more employable and prepare them
for the real world and at the same time help them take social responsibility and put something back."

He cites a business called Green Dreams, which was set up by young people who first transformed an unloved green space in Bromley for their community and from that started their own landscaping business.

He says most would-be entrepreneurs are unaware of the support and funding available to them. There are many places to go for help, especially as the business world is looking to get involved in community projects, and also various sources of finance available – even to individuals with a good idea – from sources such as the National Lottery, the Millennium Commission and UnLtd, a foundation set up to provide support and funding for social entrepreneurs.

"In the past there was very much a barrier between 'we do good work' and 'they are capitalist pigs' but this has changed," says the 53-year-old. "There are many businessmen who want to use their significant expertise in the social sector and many communities who could make good use of project management and other business-related skills and this is a good thing."

Lord Mawson has met his fair share of naysayers, but as he himself says: "Where many people see only problems, social entrepreneurs see opportunities for change. It's about challenging accepted truths and making people see that they have to commit the time, energy and sometimes pay the personal price that social change demands."

The Social Entrepreneur, Making Communities Work, by Andrew Mawson, published by Atlantic Books, is available from January 22, priced £9.99. To order, call the Yorkshire Post Bookshop on 0800 0153232 or online at www.yorkshirepost bookshop.co.uk. P&P is £2.75.