Charity supporting victims of child sexual abuse receives boost in funding from Police and Crime Commissioner Colin Sutton

Norfolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Colin Sutton, visited Brave Futures in Norwich, a registered charity supporting people who are victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

 

As part of the visit, the team at Brave Futures delivered a presentation to the PCC to explain all the work they do as a children’s charity working throughout Norfolk, including their role in providing specialist support for children and young people up to the age of 18 who have experienced sexual abuse. 

 

Preventing violence, abuse and exploitation is one of Colin Sutton's main priorities for his proposed Police and Crime Plan and this includes delivering specialist victim support services across the county.

 

Colin Sutton, Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk, said: “It was fantastic to visit Brave Futures in Norwich, and to see such passion, commitment and enthusiasm on display.

 

“It is clear as day to me that the team at Brave Futures care so deeply about the work they do, which only filled me with more confidence that I had made the right decision, having announced to the team on the visit that I would be granting additional funding to Brave Futures for 2027/28.

 

“I would love to extend another huge thank you to the team at Brave Futures, not only for the incredible work they do for children and young people in our county, but also for their time and hospitality, all of which I am truly grateful.

 

“As I get deeper into my term as Police and Crime Commissioner, it is evident that increasing provision of sexual violence support services to provide cross county accessible services is one of the most important opportunities available to me in this role, in order to improve outcomes for victims no matter where they live.”

 

The latest offer of an additional £78,000 to current funding will support the project until March 2028.

 

Kate Grimwood, Chief Executive for Brave Futures, said: “We’re incredibly grateful for this additional funding. It was such welcome news, especially as we’re seeing more and more young people across Norfolk needing our support.

 

“This funding feels like a real step forward for us, giving us the opportunity to reach more young people and respond to the growing demand for our service. We want every young person affected by sexual abuse to have the chance to access the specialist support they deserve, when they need it, and this brings us one step closer to making that happen.”

 

Brave Futures

Brave Futures offers free, confidential specialist support for children aged 0 to 18-years-old who have experienced sexual abuse. This support includes re-referrals for people aged up to 21-years-old. Brave Futures also provides individual work for non-abused siblings who have potentially been impacted by the abuse of their sibling.

 

In addition to this, Brave Futures offer specialist parent and carer support and guidance and deliver parent support through ‘The Letting the Future In’, which is a National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) programme.

 

Support from Brave Futures is offered both during and after police involvement.

 

The aim for Brave Futures is to provide a safe space where children and young people make sense of their experiences and the feeling they may have, and to support them to develop the skills and tools they need to rebuild their futures.

 

The support services provided by Brave Futures can be accessed via:

Website: https://bravefutures.org/

Telephone: 01473 353355