Safety Net (Carlisle) Advice and Support Centre

Safety Net (Carlisle) Advice and Support Centre

 

Raising awareness within communities about the devastating
impact of the abuse of children and young people.


Registered Charity 1109056
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Safety Net (Carlisle) Services
     
 

Safety Net's services include:

 

  
     
 

Therapy & Counselling

How do you feel?
Do you think talking about problems you have just now will help?
Are you struggling to sleep, are you taking too much alcohol or drugs?
Are your relationships struggling?

  
     
  Some counselling might help you.
You can access counselling with Safety Net on terms to suit you. For example, it could be weekly or fortnightly, you can choose to see a man, or a woman. 		 
     
  You don’t have to talk about the abuse if you are not comfortable with that. Counselling is about helping you deal with the problems you are experiencing in your life, some of that may, or may not, be linked to the abuse you have suffered.  
     
  It may be that you feel you are coping fine, but have practical problems that you need support with, such as information about what to expect at court and how to get help there. We work with many other professionals who can help and we are able to point you in the right direction. You may need support making a statement, you might want to know more about looking after your sexual health. We can help with all of this, and more. Just ask.  
     
  Counselling for children and young people offers a positive way forward from the impact of sexual trauma and may prevent more serious emotional and behavioural difficulties from developing. We operate within a child protection policy and strict code of practice. All staff members in contact with children are police checked and subject to the agency’s security procedures.

A conviction of the perpetrator is not an essential requirement for referral of a child to therapy. For further information regarding our child Therapeutic Services please contact us. 		 
     
 

Support

Including:

Support whilst giving evidence

Some of you may consider involving the police. Safety Net knows that this process can be daunting. You can talk through whether you want to or not with us, and we can help you make contact with the right people. There is also the facility in some cases to give your statement at our offices instead of the police station or for us to go to the police station with you. WHATEVER YOU NEED WE WILL TRY TO HELP - JUST ASK!

  
     
 

Advocacy

Many people find it hard to talk to people in authority. You may feel intimidated or unsure of yourself. We can work with you to decide if you need us to help you. This can be as simple as being at your side and remaining silent, whilst you speak, knowing you have someone who is "on your side". It can be about doing some of the talking on your behalf. People who have been raped or abused often shut-off, zone out. We are capable of spotting when this happens and asking for a break in meetings etc. It may be that you have to attend a meeting and you don't understand the language being used. We will always try to get other professionals to speak in plain English. We have also given evidence in court in support of our clients.

  
     
 

Training

We offer a range of training courses for front line workers working with victims of rape and sexual abuse including ' An introduction to working with children and young people who have been sexually abused'. Our aim is to provide training which can develop the skills and capacity of professionals working with victims of abuse so that they feel both comfortable and capable of working in this field, which in turn helps those who are disclosing abuse to feel heard and understood in a safe and proactive way.

 
     
 

Information

We provide a sign-posting service. We know that life can be chaotic for you just now and that you may not know of all the people and places that can help you e.g. with homelessness; as a carer; as a single mother; what you are entitled to if you are under 19; if you are jobless; who the child care providers are; after school activities; studying; other support services etc.
  		 
     
 

Referrals

You can contact us directly, yourself, or you can ask someone else to do it for you. We do have standard procedures for referrals from outside agencies. Please contact the office for more information.

 
     
Home About Safety Net Services News Making a difference Training & Conferences Links Contact
 
Registered Charity 1109056
 
© Safety Net Carlisle 2005 - 2008