Mersey Reporter - #Merseybites #News

THIS week marks the 2nd anniversary of the launch of the Victim Care Merseyside hub - a free, confidential advice and support service which has already offered support to more than 88,000 victims of crime.

Delivered by the Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell, Victim Care Merseyside is a support service designed to help victims of crime in the aftermath of a crime.

The hub was launched in November 2022 to provide a single point of contact for victims of crime, whether they have reported to the police or not.

In the last 12 months alone, the hub team of 15 dedicated victim care advisers and managers, has offered specialist advice and support to more than 42,000 victims.

The service has proved vital for many victims with recent feedback highlighting how the emotional and practical care they’ve received from the team has helped them to cope and recover.

Some of the positive comments that the advisors have received so far include:- “Thank you for the help and advice you have given me and enabled me to discover new avenues to help my situation. You do a fantastic job and have helped me more than you realise. Thank you for listening to me and helping me to cope. Thank you for being there for me and for providing me with the resilience I needed to get through to my first counselling session. I find that it really helped talking to someone who understands and listens, the pressure has eased speaking to you and the phone call gave me a lot of strength the next day to complete the victim impact statement and re-engage with the police.”

Merseyside’s Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell said:- “It’s amazing to see the difference the Victim Care Merseyside hub has made in its 1st 2 years of operation. The team have offered support to thousands of vulnerable people, with the number of people taking up that offer constantly growing. Those figures are testament to the care, compassion and guidance offered by the advisors. The value of the service they provide was never more evident than in the summer, when in the wake of the awful tragedy, the team set up a base in Southport to be on hand to offer support to all those who needed it. We know that not everyone needs that care and help immediately after a crime. It may take weeks, months, even years. That’s why I want to remind people, there is no deadline on that support provided by the Victim Care Merseyside hub – when you need help they will be there, so please don’t suffer in silence."

Merseyside Police’s Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said:- “Despite having only been established for 2 years, it is clear that the hub is going from strength to strength based on the number of victims receiving support each month. The positive feedback shows how much victims appreciate the time taken by the advisors to listen to them and provide the information they may want or need. I think this is especially important for our older residents who may be more isolated and unable to access support elsewhere. Therefore, I would urge anyone who is either a victim themselves or has been affected by a crime to contact the Victim Care Hub. There is no time limit as it doesn’t matter how long since the crime took place, help will always be available.”

Victim Care Merseyside hub manager Nicky Griffiths said:- “I am so proud of our team of Victim Care Team advisors. It is their kindness, dedication and passion that allows us to receive such feedback, it is all the encouragement we need to keep going and progressing the service offered.”

To mark the anniversary week, the hub team will be hosting a stall at the Liverpool John Moores University Law and Justice Careers Fair on Wednesday to raise awareness of the support they provide among students.

If you’ve been affected by crime, Victim Care Merseyside is here to provide support. Call Freephone:- 0808 175 3080 on weekdays between 8am and 6pm or request support online at:- www.victimcaremerseyside.org at any time.