Young Londoners affected by violence and exploitation
Safer London is closed over the festive season.
We will be closed from 24th December to 2nd January. During this period, our referral form will remain open, but we will not process any referrals until after 2nd January.
If you have safeguarding concerns about someone you have already referred, please be aware that we will not be able to process referrals until after 2nd January. If your concerns are urgent, please seek support from alternative services during this time.
If you are a young Londoner or a parent/carer looking to refer yourself or your family to our services, we recommend waiting until the new year to do so. In the meantime, if you need support, there are other services and resources available to assist you.
Our team of Specialist and Expert Caseworkers provide trauma-informed and person-centred support to young Londoners affected by violence and exploitation.
For anything up to 2 years, young Londoners will work with our Specialist or Expert Caseworkers who will work alongside them around areas including around safety awareness, improving health and emotional wellbeing, as well as improving relationships with peers and family dynamics.
As part of their support, they will also have access to in-house specialists and experts to support them with their needs.
This servcie is delivered through an Alliance Partnership consisting of Safer London, St Giles Trust, New Horizon Youth Centre and Anna Freud. This service is funded by the Mayor's Office for Police and Crime as part of the mayor’s wider commitment to reduce and prevent violence and exploitation and protect children and young people from being exploited or harmed.
Making a referral
We welcome referrals from all areas of the community whether directly from young Londoners, their families, friends or community groups, as well as professionals in statutory or non-statutory services.
When a young Londoner is referred into Safer London, our Front Door team screens and processes each referral. The team then allocates a dedicated Specialist or Expert Caseworker to the young Londoner, taking into consideration their individual circumstances and needs.
Referral Criteria
We can work with young Londoners living in any London borough, aged up to 25 who are directly impacted or at significant risk of violence and/or criminal/sexual exploitation, including County Lines
Please note we can’t accept referrals where the concerns solely relate to domestic abuse/violence or accessing housing. For a referral to be accepted there must be concerns around violence, criminal exploitation or sexual exploitation. This doesn’t mean we can’t address the issues of DA/DV or housing where they are present for young Londoners, but the primary reason for referral must be youth violence, criminal or sexual exploitation.
If you or someone you know needs specific support around DA/DV or housing there are organisations you can contact including:
- National Domestic Abuse helpline: 0808 2000 247
- Women’s Aid: http://www.womensaid.org.uk
- Shelter: shelter.org.uk
How to make a referral
Before making a referral, please ensure that the young Londoner has given consent to share their information with us.
When making a referral it is important you complete each section of the form with as much detailed information as possible. This will allow us to effectively process the referral and get the young Londoner the support they need.
Once you have submitted your referral, we will confirm receipt within 2 day working days. In this we will also include any requests for additional information, this may also include a request for any documents that may be needed to support the referral. Although we do understand sometimes this isn’t possible, we do politely ask you respond to any requests within five working days, as this significantly speeds up the process of allocating a Caseworker to the young Londoner.
To make a referral for a young Londoner please complete the online form.
Once a referral is received the Front Door team will contact the young Londoner to confirm they happy to access Safer London’s services and support.
As our services are voluntary, we ask that an agreement to access services declaration is completed. This is so the young Londoner understands the nature of the intervention, and that they are happy to go ahead with the support. The agreement to access services declaration is completed with support of the young Londoner’s Caseworker in their first session.
If you have any queries please email the Front Door at Referrals@saferlondon.org.uk
Make a referral
CLICK HERESafer London helped me improve my mental health, made me more confident, taught me how to be safer. It contributed to make me a better person.
Frequently asked questions
What does the support look like?
Young Londoners referred to our services are allocated a dedicated Caseworker who works with them on a one-to-one basis.
The intervention is tailored to meet the young Londoner’s needs including support surrounding safety awareness, improving health and well-being, improving relationships with peers and family dynamics. Sessions are delivered in a place that is safe for that young Londoner, whether this be at school or elsewhere in the community.
Interventions can last anywhere up to 2 years dependent on the young Londoner’s needs. The length of the intervention is decided on a case-by-case basis and is reviewed regularly throughout the programme of support.
What housing support does Safer London offer?
As an organisation Safer London is not a Housing Provider and we don’t have preferred access to any housing stock.
Our housing offer is that of support. We raise awareness of housing options available to young people in London and provide advice on how best to access that resource. We can advocate on behalf of the young Londoner, referring them to housing providers and speaking on their behalf.
In extreme circumstances where the risk of serious imminent harm is evident and verified, we will seek to assist the most vulnerable to find places of safety. However, it must be noted that decisions about who is deemed vulnerable and therefore in priority need is not determined by us but by the definitions contained within the Housing Act 1996 s189 and the interpretations of that made by Housing Needs departments.
Do you work with young Londoners whilst they’re in custody?
Safer London has prison-link workers from Catch 22 who, dependent on circumstances, may visit people within the last 12 weeks of their sentence who would like to be referred to the service. However, the intervention will commence in the community upon their release.
I can’t access the referral form
Make sure you are using Google Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge when accessing the link. Other issues not allowing the form to open could include:
- An unstable internet connection.
- Firewall protection set up by your organisation – in this case please speak to your IT department/provider.
The referral form is asking me for a log in
If you are asked for a log in to access the form this is because you either have bookmarked the referral link or copied and pasted the link from your browser window.
Every time you wish to put in a new referral, you must do so by coming back to this page and clicking the link to the online form.
I am in the form, but I am unsure what information is required to complete it
Please check the ‘How to Make a Referral’ section on this page. If you need further assistance in completing the form please email our Front Door team referralandassessmentteam@saferlondon.org.uk at or call them on 0207 021 0301
The referral form won’t submit
If your form won’t submit it’s likely that your session has timed out. This can happen:
- due to a loss of internet connection,
- if you have had the form open for four hours and not submitted.
Unfortunately, the form doesn’t save information as you go. You will need to start the application again from the beginning.
I have made a referral, but haven’t heard anything yet
We aim to get back to you within two working days of submitting a referral. If you haven’t heard from us and the timeframe has passed, please email the Front Door team referralandassessmentteam@saferlondon.org.uk.