We’re pleased to announce that LifeLine have been awarded the contract to run the Serious Group Violence (SGV) Mentoring Service for the London Borough of Havering. As part of our SW!TCH Lives programme, the service will run for the next three years, with a possible extension of a further two years.
The SGV Mentoring Service provides support to vulnerable young people in Havering, who are at risk of or who are currently known to the Criminal Justice System, to prevent their situation from worsening. Over the longer term, the mentoring will work to reduce the number of young people who become involved in gangs and group violence, as well as reduce offending and recidivism for vulnerable young people. The service will be working closely with the Council’s Youth Offending Service and Probation Service, as part of a greater focus on preventative measures for young people in the borough.
We are proud that Havering Council continues to trust in our approach to working with young people, as well as our ability to work in partnership for the benefit of the borough. The service will be a notable new addition to the work of our SW!TCH programme in Havering, allowing the team to engage and support another group of young people facing significant challenges.
Through this programme, we will be able to provide intensive mentoring to a caseload of 40 vulnerable young people. The mentoring will be based on LifeLine’s award-winning VIP approach which helps the beneficiaries discover a sense of vision for their lives, understand their identity and become comfortable in their own skin, and then helps them find the purpose for their life, a meaningful role in society.
We will also be recruiting and training up to 10 volunteers to support young people in a wider context, through engagement work, casual mentoring, and guidance into positive activities and community programmes.
“We see this project as a great opportunity to unite and combine our holistic services, providing youth mentoring and support to families and communities with the combined aim of reducing Serious Youth Violence.
We operate in schools, the local community and in conjunction with other service providers and local authorities to try to get as much community help and support as possible to those at risk of youth and gang violence.
This project will help us reach a particularly vulnerable and crucial group within the community who, if helped soon and well enough, can be prevented from spiralling into more and worse crime.”
