A new victim support service for under 18s in Nottinghamshire will be a great way for young people who have suffered from crime to express their feelings.
That is the view of a Nottingham College student who was one of 50 to attend the launch of an enhanced Nottinghamshire Victim CARE service on Wednesday, which includes a way for young people and children to access support from a dedicated team of professionals waiting to help them.
The Got Your Back campaign acts as a mentoring support service for those under the age of 18 who are impacted by crime.
Introduced in Nottinghamshire after its success in Derbyshire and Cheshire, the trained experts offer emotional and practical support, while identifying ways to cope and recover from experiences that have caused physical and psychological harm.
Support is offered in a variety of ways, such as in person or online, with the comfort and wellbeing of the young person always the priority.
Nottinghamshire Victim CARE is a free service commissioned by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and provided by national experts Remedi, which helps victims of crime as well those affected by antisocial behaviour, hate incidents, road traffic crime and identity theft.
The service is available to all victims of crime in Nottinghamshire regardless of whether they have reported it to the police.
Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry, who hosted the launch event at Nottingham College, said: “It is crucial that young people in Nottinghamshire know that we have got their back if they need help.
“The fact that young people and children now have a team of specialists trained to deal with their issues means that they are getting the correct care to empower their recoveries.
“Nottinghamshire Victim CARE is a fantastic service where trained experts take into account what type of support is needed to put the minds of victims at ease.”
Around 20,000 people were referred into victim services funded by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner in the last year, including Nottinghamshire Victim CARE.
Of those who received enhanced support from these services, 90% said they were better able to cope with everyday life or recover from harm after receiving this support – an increase of 8% on the previous year.
Nicola Bancroft, Assistant Director at Remedi, said: “We are thrilled to be expanding the Nottinghamshire Victim Care service with the additional dedicated 'Got Your Back' provision, which will provide bespoke, tailored, creative mentoring support for young people aged 17 and under who are affected by crime and victimisation.
“Our 'Got Your Back' victim case workers will provide dedicated emotional and practical support in a range of settings, where young people feel most comfortable, including both in person and online support.
“They will utilise a range of resources and interventions to support young people to cope and recover from crime, working in partnership with local organisations and community led services wherever possible.”
Students who attended the launch and were able to share their views, including how they would like the service to look moving forward.
A Nottingham College student said: “The Got Your Back campaign will be great for young people in Nottinghamshire because those who struggle to express their thoughts and feelings now have somewhere to go if they need help.
He said: “The Got Your Back campaign will be great for young people in Nottinghamshire because those who struggle to express their thoughts and feelings now have somewhere to go if they need help.
“Young people may also be more willing to explain what has happened to them if they know they don’t necessarily have to report it to the Police.
“Having experts who know how to speak to young people, as well as having lot of different ways to access the support makes things so much easier from the outset.”
Another individual who has benefitted from the Got Your Back campaign in another area, explained how it helped him recover from an incident on public transport.
He said: “It was through the British Transport Police that I was put in touch with Remedi who have helped me to deal with certain situations.
“I had a lot of anxiety and became stressed out if there was a lot of people around me which would lead to being overwhelmed.
“It was helpful to have someone at Remedi to speak to about it rather than just feeling like I was bottling it up, I could explain how I felt to somebody.
“I’m a lot more confident than I was before and that’s down to the support I’ve received, Remedi want to help and that’s a good thing.”
The Nottinghamshire Victim CARE service has been running in Nottinghamshire since January 2016 and was previously run by charity Catch 22, with Remedi being awarded the new contract from 1 October.
Notts Victim CARE can be contacted by calling 0800 304 7575, texting ‘NottsVC’ to 82228, or emailing support@nottsvictimcare.org. You can also access their online home page: Home Page (nottsvictimcare.org.uk).
The helpline is open Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm. To talk to someone outside of these hours call the national Victim Support helpline on 0808 168 9111.
Posted on Thursday 19th October 2023