Pioneering scheme for victims of youth crime
Warwickshire’s Youth Justice Service is helping young victims of violent crime recover from their ordeal as part of a pioneering new scheme.
The Warwickshire County Council-led team is running Goals UK motivational workshops for young men aged between 16 and 24, who have been a victim of an offence caused by another young person, as part of a trial that could be rolled out county-wide to all groups under 25-years-old.
Heather Shilling, Operations Manager (Interventions) for Warwickshire Youth Justice Service, said: “Becoming a victim of any crime can be a traumatic experience for anyone - however violent crime can often leave lasting effects on an individual.
“The Youth Justice Service is inviting young people to take part in workshops to rebuild their self-esteem and motivation to help them realise that in the majority of cases, they weren’t specifically targeted and shouldn’t feel that they were in the wrong.”
Heather continued: “Much of our focus is on rehabilitating the offender but more recently in addition to this we’re spending more time helping the victims of crime as well.
“While these workshops are aimed at young men, we encourage any victim of crime caused by a young person to talk to us for information and support after informing the police.”
Funding for the project – running between 29 and 31 March – is being provided by the Community Cash back fund, which uses seized proceeds of crime to help those affected by it, through the provision of services and facilities for local communities.
Lewis Benjamin, chair of the Warwickshire Criminal Justice Board added: “The public response to Community Cashback in Warwickshire has been huge, and we thank everyone who took the time to either nominate a project or have their say on which project they felt would benefit from funding in our area.
“It is fantastic that we have been able to respond to the community’s needs and that the ill-gotten gains of criminals will now be channelled into projects that will make a real positive difference to the local communities and the lives of individuals.”
To find out more about the Warwickshire Youth Justice Service or the Goals UK Motivational workshops visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/yot, or call Vicki Barnes on 01926 680252.