St Giles helps people impacted by poverty, violence, exploitation and the justice system to build a positive future.  Support by the Fan Makers is specifically for the SOS+ Service which delivers preventative and early intervention work to children and young people, as well as training for parents and professionals in educational and community settings.

SOS+ conducts workshops in schools and communities to raise awareness about the dangers of county lines, helping young people recognize and avoid exploitation.

 

We have been allowed to sit in on these sessions from time to time, including recently to a group of Year 9 (Age 13-14) students at a boys school in South London.  The facilitator has 'lived experience' of gangs and exploitation but he managed to break away and build a better life.  He went through the four stages of recruitment - targeting by the exploiter, experience (or grooming) building trust by creating an appealing yet deceptive lifestyle, hooked - the young person feels they are a member of the gang - and trapped, the use of fear, coercion and violence to maintain control.

 

The facilitator gave practical guidance and advice, with constant interaction with the students.  He was certainly getting the message across and was available after the session to discuss the students' experiences on a one-to-one basis if they wanted to.

 

We all came away very impressed by what we had seen of one of the services that SOS+ offers.  It is pleasing that SOS+ was able to double the grant we made this year via the Big Give Christmas appeal last November.

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This short film explains the preventative work SOS+ does in schools and other community settings to prevent young people from becoming victims of serious violence.