Victims of crime and personal antisocial behaviour in Gloucestershire will be able to access innovative and additional support as a new Victim Support service launches in the county.
Martin Surl, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Gloucestershire, has recommissioned the specialist charity Victim Support to run the service for another five years.
Live Chat and young people
From today, and for the first time, victims will have access to a 24/7 live chat facility allowing them to get support, help and advice from trained support workers online. If they choose, victims can access this support anonymously.
Victim Support is also launching a new dedicated service for children and young people affected by crime on April 1. You Got This Glos is Victim Support Gloucestershire’s bespoke offer of one-to-one support for young victims. The accompanying website www.ygtglos.org.uk has been co-designed with young people and contains a range of resources, advice and information to help young people after crime.
View from the Commissioner
Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner Martin Surl said: ‘Victim Support has demonstrated its passion and ability to provide the best possible service to those unfortunate enough to suffer crime or personal antisocial behaviour. Being able to provide a round-the-clock service at this very challenging period in our history could hardly be more timely.
‘Victims of crime are at the heart of everything we do and I am delighted to be able to continue our partnership with Victim Support for another five years. Its bid to my office was of a very high standard and I feel confident the team will continue to deliver a top quality service.”
Victim Support Gloucestershire manager Wayne Stevens said: “We are delighted to launch our new services at this difficult time for victims and witnesses. We know that many people are looking at new ways to access support, information and advice from home and our new PCC funded services provide just that. The experience of crime can be devastating, and has very specific impacts on children and young people.
“Both adults and young people can talk to a trained support worker 24/7 through our live chat facility. This allows victims to safely and securely discuss their needs with us and receive immediate support and advice.
“We are also launching our dedicated website ygtglos.org.uk that has been designed with and for young people. It is packed with useful resources and information and is designed to empower young people, give them a voice and move them beyond crime.”
About Victim Support
Victim Support has been providing specialist support to victims in Gloucestershire since 1998.
Last year the charity contacted over 10,000 victims of crime in Gloucestershire and provided specialist support to 6,837 people, including victims of violent crime, burglary, fraud and antisocial behaviour.
For more information and to access Victim Support’s services, visit victimsupport.org.uk/gloucestershire.
