Young people talk safety in Essex

The Violence and Vulnerability Unit was delighted to take part in the 2025 Youth Voices Day, held last weekend in Chelmsford.

Youth Voice Day gives young people a platform to share their thoughts – with community leaders and key senior figures – on how to make Essex a safer place for young people.

The VVU supported the day by participating in the running of two workshops. We supported Harlow based project Rainbow Services to deliver a workshop on Gangs and County Lines and worked with Essex Council for Voluntary Youth Services (ECVYS) to run a workshop on the ripple effect, looking at personal responsibility around keeping yourself and others safe.

There was lots of discussion about the young people’s own experiences and how this shapes and influences their ideas around safety.

Lunchtime saw the opportunity to learn more about the work of the amazing therapy dogs and the impact they have helping young people, as well as the chance to take part in creative activities including sound baths and drumming therapy.

In the afternoon the groups created a presentation merging all the ideas young people had about improving safety. This included initiatives such as laser etched knives for tracking purposes and greater use of AI in social media to direct young people to support and safe spaces when using public transport.

This presentation was then shown to more than 20 leaders from across the county – including Deputy Police Fire and Crime Commissioner Jane Gardner, Essex Police Deputy Chief Constable, Rachel Nolan, The High Sheriff of Essex Julie Fosh and Deputy Lieutenant of Essex, Sir Stephen Kavanagh – and was followed by a lively discussion, after which the young people said they felt listened to but want to make sure the leaders are held to account and that the discussion leads to action!

Overall, we thought it was a fabulous day and we enjoyed seeing lots of the wonderful projects and groups we support. We are thankful for the opportunity to show how committed the Violence and Vulnerability Partnership is to the co-creation of interventions and ensuring community voices are included in all the work we do