Charity lands Big Lottery funding to expand support

A Derbyshire-based charity, Safe and Sound, has received a grant from Big Lottery funding to better its support for young people and families affected by child exploitation.

The three-year funding boost will enable the charity to expand its ‘Transforming Young Lives’ programme, which is designed to help children and young people who are at risk of, or victims of, child exploitation.

With this new funding, Safe and Sound will be able to provide a wide range of specialist support services.

It will include one-on-one and group support for young people affected by various forms of exploitation, such as online grooming, sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation (including County Lines), trafficking, modern slavery, and radicalisation.

The charity will also offer dedicated support for families of those impacted by exploitation, helping them navigate the challenges they face.

In addition to direct support for young people and families, Safe and Sound will engage with local schools and community groups to raise awareness about the dangers young people face both online and in person.

The charity will focus on areas that require a more tailored approach, such as supporting new arrivals to the community.

The grant will also allow Safe and Sound to build upon its volunteer network, providing coordination and training for volunteers who play a vital role in various aspects of the charity’s work, including youth outreach, fundraising, and administrative tasks.

This funding will significantly strengthen Safe and Sound’s ability to protect vulnerable young people, offering them the support and resources needed to move forward with their lives.

Safe and Sound CEO Tracy Harrison said: “It is important to remember that any boy or girl is at risk of exploitation – regardless of their age, family circumstances, social or cultural background. Their experiences are not only devastating to them but to the whole family. We are therefore grateful for the continued support from the Big Lottery to enable us to expand our ‘Transforming Young Lives’ programme, particularly as we redefine our community hub in Allenton and move forward with our plans to open a new city centre base next year.

“This funding is a testament to the positive impact that our multi-faceted one-to-one and group support for young people, families and our outreach and awareness-raising work in local communities is having on helping people in their darkest times to move forward positively with their lives. It will have a positive impact on our organisation, enabling us to build on the work we have done so far, expand our focus on wider exploitation and further develop our expertise in this area of work.”