St Giles Trust is delighted to receive a share of £9.4 million investment from the Home Office, secured by the London Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), to continue our essential work with young people, delivering interventions that prevent violence and change lives.
This funding ensures the continuation of our hospital-based work with young people. Working in partnership with clinical teams at The Royal London Hospital and Barts NHS Trust, our caseworkers step in at critical moments to engage with young people, offering them a pathway towards safety and a brighter future. Since 2022, St Giles caseworkers have supported 550 young people who had been involved in violence, including knife injury, gunshots, or self-harm.
Our mentors, many of whom have lived experience of the challenges faced by the young people we support, play a vital role in helping them navigate a way out of violence and vulnerability. Studies have shown that this kind of intervention can reduce readmission rates down to just 7%*.
Tracey Burley, Chief Executive of St Giles Trust, said:
“Collaborating with staff at The Royal London Hospital and Barts NHS Trust has been transformative. By integrating our lived experience approach to tackling violence, we seize a critical opportunity during hospital stays to positively impact young lives.
We are deeply thankful to the London VRU, Royal London Hospital, and Barts NHS Trust for partnering with us and sharing our belief in the power of first-hand experience to drive meaningful change in young people’s lives and wider communities.”
We look forward to continuing our work with the London VRU to ensure that every young person we support has the opportunity to thrive, free from violence.
* In-Hospital-Violence-Reduction-Services-A-Guide-to-Effective-Implementation-FINAL.pdf