Charity helps record number of children and young people

Specialist child exploitation charity Safe and Sound has helped a record number of children and young people, according to its latest annual report.

Last year, the charity supported 343 children and young people aged eight and above who had been victims of or at risk of child exploitation including online grooming sexual exploitation, County Lines, trafficking, modern slavery and radicalisation.

The charity also supported 40 families whose lives had been affected by exploitation and a further 77 families were supported through the pilot year of Family Group Conferencing, which is a new service in the city to help families stay together with support from their wider family.

The charity’s annual report also reveals that nearly 30% of the children and young people supported by the charity have learning disabilities.

As well as specialist one-to-one and group support, young people directly targeted by perpetrators and a growing number of siblings whose family live has been affected by exploitation have taken part in a wide range of positive and therapeutic activities.

The growing programme of youth activities has included sport and creative activities as well as cultural and educational trips.

The charity has recently launched a fortnightly youth club; lunchtime sessions at several local schools and continues to engage with young people with evening outreach projects in Derby and South Derbyshire every week.

Therapeutic services have also been expanded, including person-centred creative art therapy to help them rediscover their confidence, re-establish their self-worth and re-connect with those around them by formulating health relationships with other people.

Tracy Harrison, chief executive of Safe and Sound, said: “Our workload increases year on year both with young people directly affected by exploitation as well as the wider family.

“Although our primary focus is to ensure young people are safe from exploitation and work with them to recognise and come to terms with their experiences, we have a growing emphasis on organising positive activities to build their self-confidence and esteem to ensure they can move forward with their lives.

“It is equally as important to support the wider family who have been affected by exploitation – particularly with siblings to reduce their own vulnerabilities to grooming and exploitation.

“This work is particularly important for the young people and young adults with learning disabilities who are particularly vulnerable to exploitation.

“These young people or three or four times more likely to be targeted by perpetrators both online and in person for many reasons.

“Young people with learning disabilities often find it difficult to make friends of their own age and spend more time online where grooming and exploitation is rife.

“We are, therefore, ensuring that the activities we organise are fully inclusive to give all children, young people and young adults the opportunity to participate and enjoy.

“Our team are doing an amazing job to organise our own activities and to link up with the other fantastic young people focused charities and organisations to share resources, facilities and opportunities.

“As the demand for our services continues to grow, we are committed to finding new and innovative ways to transform young lives so that they can move into adulthood as strong, confident people rather than being defined by what they have experienced in their youth.”