Redthread is a multi award-winning charity with over 20 years experience of delivering pioneering youth work in hospitals and other health settings. We work across 13 hospitals in London, Nottinghamshire and Birmingham with 11- 25 year olds who are affected by grooming, sexual and criminal exploitation, violence, emotional and physical harm, mental health issues, domestic violence and modern slavery. We also support children and young people in the online space to reduce the impacts of violence, and those experiencing a range of health conditions, who are vulnerable and in need. We train NHS staff so they are able to identify and better support children and young people affected by violence in health settings. We amplify the voices of children and young people and use our evidence and insights from working with them to adapt and innovate our work, support service improvement, and influence regional and national government.
Our Work and Impact
Over the last year, our major programme of hospital-based teams supported 1,925 young people specifically impacted by violence and/or exploitation. Our evaluation and insights from our work show: 80% reported feeling safer. 87% were supported to engage with education, training and employment. 61% were less likely to be involved in crime (including retaliation for violence committed against them). 57% decreased their risk of exploitation. 54% were more likely to engage with other services. Another key element of our work is training allied professionals. In 2023 alone, we trained 4,750 professionals working with vulnerable children and young people in crisis, including NHS nurses, doctors, midwives, mental health professionals, safeguarding teams, health staff and police. Utilising our expertise and knowledge, Redthread also plays a key advocacy role, amplifying the voices of children and young people to influence national policy and practice. As Co-Secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Child Criminal Exploitation and Knife Crime, we hold an excellent platform to increase children and young people’s voice and influence.
