Let’s make it easy…The Front Door is open for victims of crime and others wanting support

The Front Door, a new single point for referral, has been launched to make access into services easy and stress free for victims of crime.

Support for victims of crime and anti-social behaviour, as well as other vulnerable and isolated members of our community, can now all be accessed by one centralised referral method.  This will provide an integrated and if required restorative response to their support needs.

The ‘single front door’ will act as a way to quickly and easily access support at any stage of the criminal justice process, whilst ensuring valuable resources are targeted where they are most needed. Referrals that come through the Front Door number will be triaged and then disseminated to the relevant services, best placed to provide care and advice. This will prevent the difficult and often confusing navigation of which service will be best placed to offer the appropriate support.

The Front Door service has been made possible by the Ministry of Justice budget that was received for victims services and which has been given additional funding by Commissioner Joy Allen, to extend support for victims of antisocial behaviour.

Commissioner Joy Allen said “It can be so complicated for victims of crime to access the support they need to cope and recover from the crime committed against them and often they don’t even know what type of support is available for them. The Front Door service is there to really make it easy to access this support without the complications of a complicated and unclear referral pathway.”

The Front Door service has been made possible by the Ministry of Justice budget that was received for victims services and which has been given additional funding by Commissioner Joy Allen, to extend support for victims of antisocial behaviour.

Mark Warcup, manager for the Victim Care and Advice Service, reiterated the span of issues that the service is able to deal with, saying “Whatever the issue you’re experiencing a referral through the Front Door will be able to help.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for answers to questions that only the offender of your crime can give, feel too nervous to attend court to give evidence or just feel like you need some help coming to terms with the crime you’ve experienced, refer yourself to the Front Door and we can point you in the right direction.”

Jim Cunningham, manager of the Community Peer Mentors highlights that we aim to empower change, reduce vulnerability and provide a voice for the unheard. This fantastic support is given to anyone, regardless of their background or circumstances, and supported by our brilliant volunteers and staff.

To find out more about the service please call 0800 138 2020.

The Front Door is open, use it to get the support you need and deserve.

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