Over 490 young people from Southend and Canvey Island have benefited from support thanks to grants from the Essex Violence and Vulnerability Unit.
The VVU undertakes interventions, awareness and education programmes to support young people, families and communities to live positive lives free of crime.
The local organisations Canvey Island Youth (Yellow Door), Southend Vineyard and Southend on Sea Rape Crisis were each given VVU grants to specifically work with young people.
Yellow Door was funded £9,790 to employ a specialist youth worker for 12 hours per week in Castle Point District. Young people, involved in anti-social, risk-taking, and criminal behaviour, or were vulnerable to exploitation were listened to and mentored. The provision meant that 68 young people had someone to talk to within the club, at a drop in centre or at outreach activities.
Alex Hawkins, Canvey Island Youth (Yellow Door), is really pleased with the results. He said: “The project went really well. The specialist worker greatly helped those struggling with their emotions and through mentoring built social and communicative skills. Within the initial ten weeks of mentoring, someone who regularly lashed out violently is now able to deal better with challenging situations and is back at school”.
Over 340 young people are being supported by a £25,000 VVU grant to the organisation Southend Vineyard in an exciting, creative project establishing a new youth café by Warrior Square, Southend. Twice weekly youth activities and Friday night/Saturday morning outreach support for young adults using the night-time economy are held. Southend YMCA help staff the venue with experienced youth workers. Other youth organisations also use the café premises including Essex University.
Steve Currell said: “A shop has now been transformed to a create a youth café that you would want to be seen in. Young people have started to build meaningful relationships with their peers and trusted adults. There’s a deepening sense of community, increased motivation and further engagement with positive activities”.
The project also brought in additional matched funding of £9000.
Over 80 young, vulnerable people were supported with a £24,172 VVU grant to Southend on Sea Rape Crisis. All were victims of sexual violence, who were previously unknown to the organisation. The funding helped provide more specialist counselling which also helped reduced waiting times. A more responsive triage system was implemented to help ensure young people receive timely, targeted support at the point of highest need, reducing their exposure to further harm and increasing their stability.
Cathryn Cardoza, SOSRC, CEO, said: “The Violence and Vulnerability Fund has been instrumental in enabling Southend-on-Sea Rape Crisis to provide specialist, trauma-informed support for young survivors of sexual violence. This funding has allowed us to strengthen our collaborative, multi-agency approach, ensuring that children and young people receive the right help at the right time.
“Through our dedicated Children’s Independent Sexual Violence Advocate (CHISVA) and specialist therapists, we work closely with schools, safeguarding teams, police, social care, and other local services to provide joined-up, holistic support. This approach not only addresses the immediate trauma but also supports young people’s ongoing safety, wellbeing, and education. The fund has helped us to build stronger partnerships with education settings, enabling us to better identify those at risk, intervene early, and ensure no young person faces this journey alone.”
Across the county the VVU awarded £312,508 to 17 projects to support young people. The schemes have focused on creating safe spaces for young people to go. These safe spaces then supported the young people in a number of ways, including raising self-esteem and confidence, building resilience and improving mental and physical wellbeing.
Feedback from young people has been good. In a recent survey, that asked a sample of young people from each project about the impact of the project, 90% agreed it had enabled them to build connections with trusted adults. 83% said it made them feel safer, 82% believed their voice was heard and 82% thought it had a positive impact of their mental and physical wellbeing.
Roger Hirst, PFCC for Essex and Chair of the Violence and Vulnerability Partnership said: “The VVU community grant programme is a real success story, it funds projects in local areas to do targeted work based on what communities need in order to protect and support children from becoming involved in serious violence. From mentoring to youth clubs, drama to sports session, projects are delivering the activities that young people not only want to engage in, but we know keep them supported and safe. I personally want to thank all those who’ve been involved in last year’s programme and remind community groups there is still time to apply for the 2026/27 grant.”
The Violence and Vulnerability Unit Community Grant Scheme is available annually for local groups to develop bespoke local support for young people, based on what young people have said is needed in their local community.
To discover more and to apply for the Violence and Vulnerability Unit Community Grant Scheme for delivery in 2026 /27, visit www.ecvys.org.uk/funding-news. Applications must be received by 10 September at noon.
