Any child, anywhere is at risk of exploitation. Abusers do not discriminate based on social background, ethnicity or where they live. Its a devastating crime with long lasting consequences for the young person, their family and wider community - victims are more likely to experience social isolation, low self-esteem, anxiety, self-harm and a future of abusive or negative relationships.
I was unhappy and didn't feel I could talk to my mum or dad about how I felt - so I looked for comfort from people online
Exploitative relationships centre around an imbalance of power with the abuser having an advantage of cognitive ability or physical strength. Initially a relationship will appear normal, but using this imbalance will quickly progress with the end result being that the child or young person is persuaded to do something they did not initially intend to do often sexual activity or committing crimes.
Our Vision
To always be there when young people need us and to prevent exploitation wherever and however, we can.
Our Mission
To transform the lives of children and young people in Derbyshire who are affected by child exploitation. We all have an idea of what being safe and sound is but the reality for many young people is very far from that. At Safe and Sound we are passionate that every child should live a life without exploitation but sadly still many are affected and far from safe. That's why we will work to prevent, support and help rebuild lives to a point where we are no longer needed, no matter how long that takes.
Safe and Sound have been working with the most vulnerable children across Derby and Derbyshire since 2002, protecting them from the dangers of exploitation and providing specialist support for children who need further help to understand their situation.
Our work centres around Awareness and Education, with over 132 sessions reaching 2549 people younger and older. By preparing children, young people and their families for the potential risks and strategies on staying safe, we can prevent problems occurring.
Something like this can just tear your family apart and you feel like you have nowhere to turn. Safe and Sound helped our family when we desperately needed it
For children at greater risk, we provide specialist tailored one-to=one support. This focusses on reducing the individual risk factors a child may have for example, going missing from home or school, unsafe online behaviour or associations with risky peers.
Alongside this, we offer Youth Work activities which engage young people in positive areas such as sport or the arts, allowing them to socialise in a safe environment and build their resilience to risk. Our Family Worker will look beyond the young person and support families who may have additional needs financial struggles, addiction or disabilities often these are at the root of a young persons vulnerability and by helping the whole family we can keep the child or young person safe.
Beyond our core risk reduction work, for young people who need further help to move into adult life we also offer Transitional Activities, which can range from lifeskills such as budgeting or cooking to mentoring or CV preparation. This longer period of help helps them move back to normal day to day life and look forward to further education, work or other life goals.
In 2022, we supported a record 343 children and young people aged eight and above who have been victims or at risk of child exploitation and supported 40 families through our family service. Through 83 outreach sessions, we engaged with 3206 children and young people in Derby City and Swadlincote.
Every year we need to raise £220,000 to provide this vital support to the most vulnerable children in our local communities across the city and county. We need to raise at least £100,000 of this from fundraising, events and donations to enable us to continue working with young people and keep them safe from harm. You can help us do this.
£10 Will fund a meal and a hot drink for a child or young person as part of a 1-2-1 session. This can help put them at ease and make talking easier, and can also sometimes be their first meal in a while if theyve had episodes of going missing.
£25 Will fund resources for a young person and their family to help them process and work through their emotions and what has happened to them.
£50 Provides a professional supervision session for our support workers, giving them a space to offload the emotional trauma of their work and ensures we support their wellbeing and safety.
£100 Funds an awareness session at a school or other community group
£602 Funds a day of Safe and Sounds activity
£1,000 Funds a Youth Work or Transition activity programme for a young person
£3,000 Funds a typical programme of 1-2-1 risk reduction work with a child or young person, typically delivered over 6-9 months
I consider myself lucky that I did not end up being raped, kidnapped or worse. Basically, Safe and Sound saved my life
Join an Event - follow the link to find out about events we're running or that our supporters are running you can take part in or support. Or, create your own event! Email fundraising@safeandsoundgroup.org.uk with any questions or ideas.
If you're thinking about fundraising for us, why not Download a Fundraising Pack ?
Volunteer with us - if you can give up your time and talents, please email info@safeandsoundgroup.org.uk for a chat
* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.
