Support for survivors of sexual violence
CARA (Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse) provide a range of specialist services to victims and survivors of any kind of sexual violence, working with people of all ages and all genders. The VVU support CARA through our community grant fund, helping increase counselling for young people who have been victims of sexual […]
October 2022: County Lines lesson plans
Following the success of our campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of County Lines, and the ways young people can become involved, we have produced three lesson plans for use in secondary school settings. The lesson plans should be used sequentially and discuss the psychology of decision making and influence, the importance of a […]
Learn about detached youth work (Sept 2022)
We spent some time with Bar ‘n’ bus who lead detached youth work in Basildon. Detached youth workers spend time in the places young people hang out in order to get to know and form relationships with these young people. This form of youth work means the youth workers can engage with young people who […]
See our Community Grant Fund in action
Our community grant fund unlocks funding for projects that work with children and young people, projects that have a positive impact on issues relating to crime and anti-social behaviour, and violence and vulnerability. Local organisations and groups are at the forefront of some amazing work taking place to address these issues and the grant fund […]
Our Listening Projects
Between October 2021 and February 2022, the VVU commissioned Essex Council of Voluntary Youth Services (ECVYS) to run two listening projects. The projects were to gather both the views of young people and the views of the community on how safe they feel in Essex (especially around gangs & knife crime).This year the youth voices […]
January 2022: Tell us about knife crime
The VVU wants to understand more about the perception of knife crime in Essex and whether individuals – particularly parents – feel confident in talking to their children about the associated dangers and risks of carrying a knife or bladed weapon. We would like to understand if there are enough resources available to support parents […]