Midlands charity celebrates 60th anniversary and calls for more support for vulnerable people
Leading social-justice charity St Giles is celebrating seven years in the Midlands, with a call for further support for its services to support vulnerable people across the region facing barriers and exclusion.
The charity celebrated its achievements at an event held at the Coventry Transport Museum.
St Giles uses expertise and real-life past experience of overcoming adversity to empower people who are not getting the help they need. Since the regional base in Coventry opened in 2015, over 2,100 people have been supported to make positive changes in their lives.
Of those, 500 people with lived experience have been trained to Level 3 Advice & Guidance – 450 in prison and 50 in the community.
The A&E Youth Violence Teachable Moments Service has tackled the effects of knife crime and youth crime, with 600 young people supported within emergency departments in the region, in Wolverhampton and Coventry, whilst over 100 young females impacted by criminal and sexual exploitation have been supported via the Expect Respect Project.
Hundreds of young adults have also been supported with exiting County Lines, via the Home Office County Lines Victim Support Service, whilst over 200 people supported with food poverty through the Pantry service, located at their Coventry base.
Steve Clarke, Head of Service in the Midlands said:
“I would like to thank all our partners as without their valued support we wouldn’t be able to help and impact the thousands of people we support each year to find homes, secure employment, exit gangs, and raise their own aspirations to be the very best version of themselves”.
“Our work today is just as relevant to when we started in the region. We provide food and advice to the most vulnerable, through our Pantry, to help contribute towards the ongoing cost of living crisis. Our SOS and SOS+ initiatives help address some of the rising levels of violence within the West Midlands and offer young people an alternative way forwards.”
Simon Foster, Police and Crime Commissioner for West Midlands said:
“I am immensely grateful to St Giles for the innovative work they carry out on my behalf and for the benefit of the people and communities in our region.
“They intervene in A&E units, out on the road when a vulnerable young person is detected selling drugs and in many other youth settings, to safeguard vulnerable young people, in order to prevent and reduce violence.
“We know preventing crime is far cheaper and far more effective than having to deal with the consequences of crime. St Giles play a significant role in helping us do just that in the West Midlands.”
St Giles has just launched a Christmas fundraising appeal to make sure the charity can continue to help people access enough nutritious food to feed their families this Christmas. A single donation of £23.91 alone could provide two weekly shops for people struggling to make ends meet, with wraparound practical support to help end food poverty for good.
You can help today, just follow the link to Donate to our Christmas Appeal
To read more visit: Christmas Appeal – St Giles (stgilestrust.org.uk)