Splash, part of Youth Action Wiltshire, helps young crime victims, offering support and guidance for recovery.
They support young victims of crime. Splash handles 350 to 400 referrals yearly. Referrals come from various sources. These include police, schools, and care teams. Wilkinson thinks Splash is great. It helps young crime victims a lot. He liked seeing the service in action. He also met the team.
It is important for young people to process things. They need to be able to recover too. A safe space helps them help themselves. Wilkinson’s office funds Splash for this reason. Wilkinson praised the young people he met. Their cooking skills impressed him, too. He was proud of them and their families.
Ideally, kids wouldn’t be crime victims. But Splash helps when they are. Splash supports them through the process. Splash helps kids under eight. They work with their caregivers. They point them to local children’s centers.
Splash offers emotional support at school. They provide access to mental health services. Families get a support pack. Splash can help them get counseling. Trusted partners offer counseling services. These include Relate and Wiltshire Mind. The Family Counseling Trust is another partner.
Splash offers coaching for older kids. They work with youth support workers. Young people do positive things. They attend evening and weekend sessions. These sessions foster self-esteem and friendship. Young people join leadership programmes. They train as peer mentors. They become young leaders. They can become young listeners too.
This gives them chances to volunteer. They support others facing similar issues. Young people join Voice Groups. They give feedback to criminal justice services. This feedback is very important. Ben Jarvis leads Youth Action Wiltshire. He also leads the Splash team.
He says Splash helps kids regain confidence. They build resilience and move forward. Splash supports young victims. They ensure they get the care they need. This helps them to cope and recover. Splash youth workers build strong rapport. They create trusted relationships. They do this through activities. Mentoring sessions also help. This helps kids move on. They can then leave behind bad experiences. These experiences were caused by crime.