May 26, 2020 | News
Derbyshire’s specialist child exploitation charity Safe and Sound has been shortlisted for two regional awards in recognition of its achievements.
Safe and Sound has reached the finals of the East Midlands Charity Awards 2020 which incorporates 14 different categories and has attracted entries from across the region.
The charity’s Butterfly Appeal, which was launched in June 2019 to support their ambitious expansion plans, has been shortlisted for the fundraising campaign of the year category; and chief executive Tracy Harrison is in the running to be named charity director of the year.
Due to the pandemic, the awards presentation, planned for June 11 will now be held as a virtual event.
Tracy Harrison said today: “We are delighted to have been recognised in this awards scheme which highlights the vital role that charities play across the region – particularly in these very challenging times.
“Our Butterfly Appeal would not be the success that it is without the fantastic support we have received from businesses, community groups and individuals over the past year and they all share in this welcome accolade.
“We look forward to meeting the other charities on the virtual awards platform and, of course, to hopefully hearing Safe and Sound called out as the winners!”
Safe and Sound Chair of Trustees Allen Graham concluded: “This is tremendous recognition of the dedication, creativity and determination to ensure this unique charity makes a difference to young people who have been a victim or are at risk of exploitation. The butterfly campaign has been imaginative, sensitive and impactful.
“The trustees are delighted that Tracy has been nominated for the Director of the year award, this is extremely well deserved as she has displayed great leadership, tenacity and empathy in positioning Safe and Sound for a bright future – we clearly hope she is successful at the finals.”
For more information about Safe and Sound and how to support the charity’s work, please visit www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk and follow on social media channels.
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Media enquiries: Sarah Jenkin-Jones, JJPR, Tel: 01332 515102/07951 945665; [email protected]
About Safe and Sound
Formed in 2002, Safe and Sound is an inspiring Derbyshire charity that transforms young lives affected by child exploitation with innovative, hands-on programmes.
The charity works at grass root levels delivering individual support to each child as well as families and carers. This vital support enables them to move not just to a place of safety, but emerge unshackled and undefined by their experience and enabled to reach their full potential.
The charity continues to specialise in child sexual exploitation and is now developing its services to support children and young people facing or at risk of wider exploitation which are often interlinked. These include physical and emotional violence, neglect, modern day slavery, radicalisation and human trafficking, domestic abuse, missing episodes and County Lines.
Safe and Sound is led by former police superintendent Tracy Harrison with the support of a specialist team; an experience board of Trustees and now a team of Ambassadors who are helping to raise the profile of the charity and the issue of child exploitation.
Safe and Sound’s expertise came to the fore during the 2010 landmark case – Operation Retriever – which was Derby’s first prosecution for child sexual exploitation and abuse. The charity’s specialist team supported every young person affected by the criminal actions of 13 defendants who were jailed in total for up to 22 years for 70 offences.
For more information about child exploitation, Safe and Sound Derby and how to support their work, please visit www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk
May 21, 2020 | News, Press Releases
The full impact of the pandemic lockdown on young people’s safety and mental well-being will not be truly revealed until young people return to school, according to the chief executive of specialist child exploitation charity Safe and Sound.
Safe and Sound supports children and young people across Derbyshire who are victims of or at risk of child exploitation including sexual, County Lines, Modern Slavery and trafficking and their families.
Over the past few weeks, the charity has directly supported 42 local young people who are aged seven to 18 either virtually or at a safe distance in schools with particularly vulnerable young people.
The particular concern for support workers during the pandemic lockdown has been the danger of online grooming and unhealthy relationships with young people spending more time on social media and gaming channels.
They have also helped many more families with wider issues around mental well-being and practical issues such as food poverty.
Safe and Sound CEO Tracy Harrison explained: “Although we have adapted our support services during these difficult times, we will only fully know the scale of the impact when children are back in school – doing other activities or back with their friends.
“This is when they feel more comfortable to talk about what they have been experiencing so that we can properly assess the support needed moving forwards.”
She continued: “During lockdown, the factors that have been triggers for exploitation have been higher than ever. Children have been isolated, confused and have had more to spend online.
“A focus of our work has therefore been to ensure that young people have the privacy setting in place and the awareness of the dangers of online grooming.
“We have had a greater number of requests from fellow professionals such as teachers and social workers recently to support boys and young people with special educational needs.
“And we know that many young people have faced other issues within the family such as domestic violence financial poverty and alcohol abuse.
“Young people in new and emerging communities such as Roma families in the city that our multi-lingual worker has supported have faced even greater pressures and anxieties due to language barriers and a lack of understanding about organisations who can help them.”
To meet the increased demand for support, Safe and Sound is forging ahead with its plans to expand its team and the support available with the imminent appointment of a family support worker and an education worker with a specific focus on young people with special educational needs, disability and hard to reach groups.
Mrs Harrison concluded: “As we start to move out of lockdown with greater social interaction, the need for support for young people and their families will be greater than ever.
“Young people will be desperate to spread their wings and this makes them particularly vulnerable to manipulation whether that is at the hands of sexual predators or drug dealers.
“There is the added danger that unhealthy relationships developed online may now lead to physical contact and we are working closely with our partner organisations to be vigilant to those who are vulnerable to such criminal exploitation.”
For more information about Safe and Sound and how to support the charity’s work, please visit www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk and follow on social media channels.
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Media enquiries: Sarah Jenkin-Jones, JJPR, Tel: 01332 515102/07951 945665; [email protected]
About Safe and Sound
Formed in 2002, Safe and Sound is an inspiring Derbyshire charity that transforms young lives affected by child exploitation with innovative, hands-on programmes.
The charity works at grass root levels delivering individual support to each child as well as families and carers. This vital support enables them to move not just to a place of safety, but emerge unshackled and undefined by their experience and enabled to reach their full potential.
The charity continues to specialise in child sexual exploitation and is now developing its services to support children and young people facing or at risk of wider exploitation which are often interlinked. These include physical and emotional violence, neglect, modern day slavery, radicalisation and human trafficking, domestic abuse, missing episodes and County Lines.
Safe and Sound is led by former police superintendent Tracy Harrison with the support of a specialist team; an experience board of Trustees and now a team of Ambassadors who are helping to raise the profile of the charity and the issue of child exploitation.
Safe and Sound’s expertise came to the fore during the 2010 landmark case – Operation Retriever – which was Derby’s first prosecution for child sexual exploitation and abuse. The charity’s specialist team supported every young person affected by the criminal actions of 13 defendants who were jailed in total for up to 22 years for 70 offences.
For more information about child exploitation, Safe and Sound Derby and how to support their work, please visit www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk
May 18, 2020 | Fundraising, News
Derby-based Safe and Sound support children and young people who are victims of or at risk of child exploitation – including sexual, County Lines, Modern Slavery and trafficking – and their families.
A major part of the charity’s Butterfly Appeal to enable the expansion of services across Derbyshire has been a joint initiative with Sinfin-based Century Mobile and intu Derby shopping centre.
During the lockdown, households are being encouraged to dig out handsets and keep them until they can be dropped off at intu Derby or collected by Century Mobile who then arranges recycling with proceeds donated to Safe and Sound.
The appeal was recently promoted around Melbourne as part of the village’s inclusion in ‘Stay at Home Motor Show’ with classic car owners displaying vehicles in their driveway to be admired by passers-by.
Safe and Sound Head of Fundraising Tom Stanyard who is also a classic car owner, explained: “We put out a plea for people who are spending this time in lockdown clearing and tidying out their homes to donate their unwanted devices and we have had a great response – particularly from residents in Melbourne and the surrounding area.
“The ‘Stay at Home Motor Show’ was a particularly great ‘vehicle’ to promote the charity. As well as receiving pledges to donate unwanted devices, passers-by admiring the classic cars donated just over £100 to Safe and Sound which is much appreciated.”
For more information about Safe and Sound and how to support the charity’s work, please visit www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk and follow on social media channels.
Ends
Media enquiries: Sarah Jenkin-Jones, JJPR, Tel: 01332 515102/07951 945665; [email protected]
About Safe and Sound
Formed in 2002, Safe and Sound is an inspiring Derbyshire charity that transforms young lives affected by child exploitation with innovative, hands-on programmes.
The charity works at grass root levels delivering individual support to each child as well as families and carers. This vital support enables them to move not just to a place of safety, but emerge unshackled and undefined by their experience and enabled to reach their full potential.
The charity continues to specialise in child sexual exploitation and is now developing its services to support children and young people facing or at risk of wider exploitation which are often interlinked. These include physical and emotional violence, neglect, modern day slavery, radicalisation and human trafficking, domestic abuse, missing episodes and County Lines.
Safe and Sound is led by former police superintendent Tracy Harrison with the support of a specialist team; an experience board of Trustees and now a team of Ambassadors who are helping to raise the profile of the charity and the issue of child exploitation.
Safe and Sound’s expertise came to the fore during the 2010 landmark case – Operation Retriever – which was Derby’s first prosecution for child sexual exploitation and abuse. The charity’s specialist team supported every young person affected by the criminal actions of 13 defendants who were jailed in total for up to 22 years for 70 offences.
For more information about child exploitation, Safe and Sound Derby and how to support their work, please visit www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk
May 13, 2020 | News
The chief executive and a young ambassador of Derby-based charity Safe and Sound have both gained national recognition for their work to tackle and raise awareness of child exploitation.
Charity leader Tracy Harrison and child sexual exploitation survivor Louise Murphy-Fairclough (18) were both nominated for the NWG Exploitation Response Unit’s Unsung Hero Awards 2020 alongside representatives of organisations, local authorities and police forces across the UK.
Mrs Harrison reached the final of the Helping Hands Award which recognises the outstanding contribution of those who work tirelessly to improve the response to children and Louise was a finalist in the Inspiring Voices award – for young people who have inspired others to tackle exploitation.
The awards ceremony – originally planned for this month – will now be held virtually when winners and finalists will be congratulated on their work.
Tracy Harrison was appointed CEO of Safe and Sound last May and has been instrumental in widening the charity’s scope and services to support children and young people across Derbyshire who are victims of or at risk of child exploitation – including sexual, County Lines, Modern Slavery and trafficking – and their families.
Louise, who lives in Erewash, has been supported by Safe and Sound since being targeted by groomers online.
She is now the charity’s young ambassador and works alongside Safe and Sound support officers to raise awareness of the dangers facing young people both online and in local communities.
Tracy Harrison said: “Louise and I are honoured to be finalists in these prestigious awards organised by NWG which is also based in Derby and brings together organisations across the UK in the national response to this growing issue.
“It is a shame that, like countless other events, the awards celebration has been cancelled but we look forward to meeting up with colleagues across the country for a virtual presentation to recognise the good work that is underway to better protect children and young people from exploitation in all its manipulative forms.”
Chair of Trustees Allen Graham concluded: “We are extremely proud that the achievements and commitment of both Tracy and Louise have been recognised in this way.
“Both have played important roles in expanding the remit of the charity’s support for young and families across Derbyshire and in raising awareness amongst local communities of the real and present dangers facing children and young people in today’s society.”
For more information about Safe and Sound and how to support the charity’s work, please visit www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk and follow on social media channels.
Ends
Media enquiries: Sarah Jenkin-Jones, JJPR, Tel: 01332 515102/07951 945665; [email protected]
About Safe and Sound
Formed in 2002, Safe and Sound is an inspiring Derbyshire charity that transforms young lives affected by child exploitation with innovative, hands-on programmes.
The charity works at grass root levels delivering individual support to each child as well as families and carers. This vital support enables them to move not just to a place of safety, but emerge unshackled and undefined by their experience and enabled to reach their full potential.
The charity continues to specialise in child sexual exploitation and is now developing its services to support children and young people facing or at risk of wider exploitation which are often interlinked. These include physical and emotional violence, neglect, modern day slavery, radicalisation and human trafficking, domestic abuse, missing episodes and County Lines.
Safe and Sound is led by former police superintendent Tracy Harrison with the support of a specialist team; an experience board of Trustees and now a team of Ambassadors who are helping to raise the profile of the charity and the issue of child exploitation.
Safe and Sound’s expertise came to the fore during the 2010 landmark case – Operation Retriever – which was Derby’s first prosecution for child sexual exploitation and abuse. The charity’s specialist team supported every young person affected by the criminal actions of 13 defendants who were jailed in total for up to 22 years for 70 offences.
For more information about child exploitation, Safe and Sound Derby and how to support their work, please visit www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk
