The Bedfordshire Violence and Exploitation Reduction Unit (VERU) has been established to create a network of different agencies and groups to tackle the root causes of things like gang membership and prevent young people becoming involved in all aspects of gang criminality and exploitation.

The VERU Youth Intervention Specialist (YIS) team comes with a wealth of both lived and professional experiences, ready to support and work with victims, witnesses and those involved in criminal activities – to include our specialist area around gang associations.

Our aim is to encourage the reduction of child criminal exploitation (CCE) and violent activities impacting our Bedfordshire community. We provide a supportive service for educators, children, young people and their families – some of whom may be currently disengaged with services.

VERU education offering

• Aspirational 1-2-1 targeted careers guidance and counselling, with parents if required
• Mental health first aid – youth (public health) qualified adviser
• School and college applications
• Lesson plans to support PSHE or targeted groups, including girls
• Online resources
• 12 week mentoring programme (1-2-1 targeted)
• Project management, scrutiny and report writing
• Educational provisions and community workshops/talks and assemblies
• Fearless crime prevention workshops and guidance for reporting crime 100 per cent anonymously
• Support for school inclusion units and alternative provisions

The YIS team has reached, through group awareness sessions and 1-2-1 targeted mentoring, 2,700 young people and over 500 professionals since launching in February 2020.

Get in touch with our team today for more information or to discuss what we can deliver to support your students and staff.