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Closed 30/09/2023
Safe & Sound Group

Colour Run

Run, walk or dance through a 5K colour explosion to help raise funds for children and young people who are affected by child exploitation. You can donate to Safe and Sound by signing up here: https://dbhc.org.uk/event/derby-colour-run2023/

2%
£1,082
raised of £5,000 target
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Closed 30/09/2023
RCN 1093936

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Story

Safe and Sound's vision is to always be there when young people need us and to prevent exploitation wherever and however, we can. Our aim is to support at the earliest opportunity with prevention and early intervention programmes.

Since 2002, we have been tackling child sexual exploitation by providing high quality tailored one-to-one support to victims and young people at risk in Derby and Derbyshire. From 2019, whilst maintaining our specialism in sexual exploitation, we have expanded our services to include all forms of exploitation. our vital work ensures that individuals receive the support they need to move forwards in their lives.

Last year, Safe and Sound supported a record 346 children and young people aged eight and above who had been victims of or at risk of child exploitation including online grooming sexual exploitation, County Lines, trafficking, modern slavery and radicalisation.

The charity heavily depends on fundraising to pay for specialist one-to-one and group support, outreach and positive youth activities programmes. Sponsorship money raised will go towards supporting Safe and Sound's programmes for young people and families.

Our Impact:

Through our direct support, we’ve helped hundreds of children and young people affected by child exploitation to avoid further harm, come to terms with their experiences and move on in their lives. Our independence from statutory services enables us to build up trust and work with children who may feel let down by other services or not trust them initially. This is reflected in our high engagement rate. As a result of our support, children are no longer at risk of exploitation. They understand how an abuser might approach them and why relationships which involve these steep imbalances of power are wrong.

Our outcomes in 2022 were:

• 100% of young people had a reduced risk of exploitation

• 98% of young people said they had improved relationships with their family and friends

• 98% of young people said they were more aware of their rights

• 94% of young people had a reduced risk of going missing or associating with risky peers/adults

• 82% of young people said their home life had improved

Young people reported that their mental health, physical health, confidence and self-esteem had improved by 25% on average. We help repair and strengthen family and friend relationships; and set the child on a brighter path toward the future with help in education or work.

Jane's Story

Jane (not her real name) lives with her siblings and adoptive parents having previously experienced abuse. She has post-traumatic stress disorder and development delay.

When referred to Safe and Sounds Special Educational Needs - Education and Awareness Officer the family were in crisis. There were real concerns as Jane had been groomed online and this had escalated into sexual exploitation which was putting a severe strain on family relationships.

Safe and Sounds Education and Awareness Officer used specially adapted resources to help Jane understand about staying safe online, boundaries, relationships, risk taking, the danger of online grooming, reporting abuse and privacy settings.

This patient and appropriate approach helped Jane to build her confidence, recognise the risks she faces and open up about her experiences.

Janes mum said:

We absolutely thought we had lost our lovely special daughter which has been hard to come to terms with and has caused us so much emotional and mental pain.

Safe and Sound has been our lifeline and started to breakdown our daughters destructive cycle, making her feel good about herself, so she was less reliant on inappropriate chat rooms. The fact that she didn't flinch when her phone was broken and said she wasn't worried how long it took to replace, showed less dependency on the vehicle to the person who has been grooming her online.

Safe and Sounds expertise with young adults with learning difficulties has shone in helping her accept what has previously happened to her and that it is just a small part of who she is. She has more of her life ahead of her than behind her and we hope it is as full and healthy in every way as possible.

With Safe and Sounds help we hope she can help her see this herself. She can now better recognise unsafe contacts online, tell us if she is uncomfortable with conversations and unwanted interest, and we have reported particularly dangerous activity to the police who have taken our concerns seriously and are investigating.

Without Safe and Sounds support for the whole family, I believe, she would have packed her bags and gone off with her groomer.

As her parents, it's been a privilege to watch her become aware of the subtle manipulative strategies that online stranger dangers presents to all vulnerable individuals and we are grateful that Safe and Sounds awareness programme was there for our young adult.

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About the charity

Safe & Sound Group

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 1093936
Safe & Sound provide vital support to vulnerable children and young people at risk of child exploitation. Through awareness raising, 1-2-1 support, youth work, family support and next steps transition work, we transform young lives with positive futures away from the dangers of exploitation.

Donation summary

Total raised
£1,081.54
+ £248.75 Gift Aid
Online donations
£1,061.54
Offline donations
£0.00
Direct donations
£430.00
Donations via fundraisers
£651.54

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