County-wide project to support young people affected by Domestic Abuse

POLICE and Crime Commissioner, Jason Ablewhite is today (5th October) announcing the details of a multi-agency project to support young people who experience domestic abuse or sexual violence.

The announcement comes as Ofsted calls for greater awareness of how these issues affect children’s wellbeing.

The ‘Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Prevention and Intervention Project’ has been funded through a successful partnership bid by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and Cambridgeshire County Council for £400,000 from the Home Office’s VAWG (Violence against Women and Girls) Transformation Fund.

The project will tackle the adverse childhood experiences of young victims of domestic and sexual abuse through community-based counselling services. It will also support young people showing low-level perpetration type behaviour, as a result of what they have witnessed or experienced.

The project is delivered by national charity Embrace-Child Victims of Crime (CVOC), and Ormiston Families in partnership with a range of different organisations and charities.

All counselling services provided by the project will be entirely voluntary and confidential and referrals can be made by contacting Embrace CVOC on 0845 60 999 60 or visit the website: www.embracecvoc.org.uk.

Police and Crime Commissioner, Jason Ablewhite said

“I am extremely pleased that we have been able to bring in additional resources to support the most vulnerable residents of our county.

“By providing a local, joined-up response, we can make sure the right support is provided at the right time, as well as intervening early to prevent these crimes from happening in the first place.”

Anne Campbell, Chief Executive, Embrace CVOC added:

“Working in Cambridgeshire for the last two years has enabled us to extend and upscale our counselling services to more young victims of domestic abuse. Experience tells us that if we are able to offer early support to young people who have witnessed abuse, we can help them look forward to more positive futures. “

Marc James, Service Manager at Ormiston Families said:

“This funding will make a real difference to children and young people affected by domestic violence. The partnership will enable us to help young people have positive futures by reducing anxiety or depression, increasing feelings of self-worth, and improving mental health and self-esteem.”

Sarah Ferguson, Assistant Director for Housing, Communities and Youth for Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council said:

“We are delighted to support this initiative to promote recovery in younger people at the earliest possible time. The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Prevention and Intervention Project is illustrative of how partnership working across a range of agencies can address gaps in provision, and improve outcomes for those impacted by domestic abuse.”

This is one of 41 projects across England and Wales receiving a share of nearly £17m in government funding to help prevent violence against women and girls and provide support for victims.