We are highlighting the importance of continued support for young people over the summer holiday period through our campaign:
Safe Summer, Strong Futures.
St Giles works across the UK year-round, delivering early intervention and intensive support to children involved in or at risk of gangs and county lines. Last year alone, we helped 869 young people reduce or exit this form of exploitation – every three hours a young person approached us for help.
School holidays can be a time of heightened risk for young people without the safety and structure of school.
During the summer and beyond, our teams will support young people and their families to stay safe, engaged in positive activities and diverted away from exploitation and violence. Figures from the ONS show that violence over the summer months can increase by 25%.
Through a range of community-based mentoring in London, West Midlands and Yorkshire we are providing practical and emotional support for young people who face added barriers around issues such as poverty, social inequality, exclusion from mainstream education and family breakdown.
These include 15-year-old Ashley who had been exploited by a drugs gang, fallen into debt to them and was being forced to deal drugs to pay it off. Desperate and scared, Ashley was in too deep by the time he met his St Giles caseworker. She spent a great deal of time with Ashley to find out why he had become vulnerable to exploitation. Ashley had a speech disorder and confided to her that it was affecting him emotionally, making it difficult for him to verbally communicate.
As trust grew between Ashley and his caseworker, she arranged for home schooling during the holidays so he could catch up on the studies he had missed during his exploitation. At the start of the new academic year, Ashley was accepted back into mainstream education and thrived well, developing his ambition to become a film writer.
Cases such as Ashley’s demonstrate the importance of intensive, consistent one-to-one support to address the issues increasing vulnerability to criminal exploitation in children and young people.
The Webinar
Recently we held a webinar with professions from across the sector, to discuss the issues and impact around summers and the risk for young people. Watch below as we unpack why young people become vulnerable and how we can keep them safe, supported and on track for a better future.
Your support could make the difference for more young people like Ashley. Get involved here: Safe Summer, Strong Futures