We work in partnership with Newmartin Community Youth Trust and
the Newham Youth Offending Team.

Strong Voices
OtSS runs Strong Voices which is a support programme for 8-18 year old victims of crime and anti-social behaviour, who have been referred by the police and other agencies. Each programme is run over a number of weeks and is aimed at enabling the young person to develop coping strategies to move forward. In small groups, young people take part in alternate workshop sessions and activity based sessions. In the workshops, they consider issues such as body language and negotiation, then in a following session young people will take part in activities and draw out themes from previous weeks, such as communications skills.

We are currently developing a stage 2 programme which is aimed at providing a more individual package of support, for young people for whom victimisation issues are still current. This individual work will supplement an activity programme, which follows on from their experiences of the first stage.

Family Group Conferencing
A Family Group Conference (FGC) is a decision-making forum which can be used to produce plans for young people who are considered at risk, or if an important decision must be made about their future, such as where they might live. They are primarily, but not exclusively, used for cases involving young people. FGC is an inventive restorative justice process which aims to satisfy the victim and minimise the chances of reoffending. FGC involves getting together the immediate and extended family and relevant agencies to address:

1. risk factors related to offending

2. the needs of the young people and their families

OtSS selects, trains and supports the independent chairs who facilitate the FGCs.

Training
We deliver a programme of community safety training in a variety of ways which is based upon a training manual that was produced in house with the help of the University of East London. This is delivered to groups of young people in schools and youth groups as well as to adult women both in groups and as individuals. We are involved in a number of networks in this country and around Europe where we are trying to develop systems of good practice in training and development of programmes to tackle violence against women and children. We are currently working with partners in Slovenia, Germany and Poland in developing ways of helping young people cope with anger.