St Giles Midlands
We offer services across the Midlands helping people overcome barriers and access the services they need to progress their lives. Working in custody and in the community, our peer-led approach underlines this work and is borne out by the fact that many of the team have first-hand experience of the issues facing the clients they are supporting.
The Midlands Peer Hub
The Midlands Peer Hub helps people who have experienced many different forms of disadvantage to gain the skills and qualifications they need to help others make positive progress.
They offer people training to Level 3 in Information, Advice and Guidance whilst they undertake supported work placements with other teams within St Giles Trust and with partner organisations in the sector. Located in Coventry, the Hub helps people across the Midlands.
The aims of the Peer Hubs are:
- To help people who have overcome adversity in their lives to improve their skills and access employment opportunities
- To add value to the work of other local partners through enabling them to benefit from the Peer Advisors we train
- To reach some of the most vulnerable people in local communities, especially those who do not usually respond to offers of help, through credible services from someone to whom they can relate
Work with young people
Through the West Midlands Violence Reduction Unit, we provide support for young people who are involved in criminal exploitation to help them make a safe and sustained exit and also work with young people who are at risk to prevent them from becoming involved in crime.Â
Supported by the West Midlands Violence Reduction Unit and NHS, we work in five hospitals in the West Midlands to support young people who have been admitted to A&E and the major trauma unit as a result of serious violence. The caseworkers help to address the underlying causes which led to the young person being admitted in the first place with the aim of preventing them returning to risky situations once discharged and linking them with opportunities that can support positive change.Â
We are also working in partnership with the Wolverhampton Youth Team supporting young people at risk to help them gain positive control over their lives and stay safe.
The Pantry
Many of the individuals and families we support are affected by food poverty. Our Midlands Pantry, located in Coventry, enables them to access fresh, nutritious, high quality food whilst benefitting from advice and support on how to address any underlying issues such as debt, housing, employment and much more.