2015 – Dr Martin Griffiths, Trauma Surgeon at The Royal London Hospital, who would later become NHS England’s Violence Reduction Lead, secures funding for St Giles to support young people admitted with violence-related injuries. Two experienced colleagues begin working in the hospital’s Major Trauma Centre. Working alongside clinical staff, they help young people address trauma and reduce the risk of returning to the circumstances that contributed to their admission.

2016 – The term ‘county lines’ begins to enter public awareness, describing a form of exploitation that St Giles caseworkers had been witnessing since 2012. Children and young people are befriended, groomed and coerced into transporting and selling drugs across the country. St Giles shares its frontline knowledge with statutory partners and policymakers. The language surrounding the issue begins to move away from ‘gangs’ towards greater recognition that many of the young people involved are highly vulnerable victims of violence and exploitation.

St Giles begins work in the West Midlands through a small number of community-based projects supporting young people at risk of violence and exploitation. Further regional growth follows in the East of England and Yorkshire.