The Violence Intervention Project
“The way they want to be seen is driven by the need to protect themselves, to keep themselves safe.”
The Violence Intervention Project (the V.I.P) works with children and young people, aged 12 to 26, who have entered the youth criminal justice system because of their violent behaviour.
Most of the charity’s clients are boys and young men who have experienced adverse childhood experiences. Head of Therapeutic Operations, Ashley McMahon, shares, “These are vulnerable young people, but no one thinks they’re vulnerable; most people think they’re monsters. No one thinks about the abuse, the trauma, the vulnerability.
“These young people have usually experienced violence within the home setting, generally perpetrated against their mothers and themselves by males. There’s a prevalence of mental health issues within the families and often undiagnosed neurodevelopmental issues. There’s also poverty; one boy we saw recently hadn’t eaten for three days.
“They’re stepping out with all these vulnerabilities, and no idea of what safety looks like. When your home environment is really unsafe, violence becomes normalised and everybody is a threat. If you don’t believe that someone will come and help you in a dangerous situation, then picking up a knife or a gun to keep yourself safe seems a logical response. One boy told me that the reason he’s so violent is because he wants to protect his friends the way he wishes he’d been protected. Some of the men he’s attacked are three times his size.”
“The relationship is the intervention.”
As Ashley says, “How do you become a man when the only men in your life have been monstrous and dangerous?
“Our intervention, which we call urban therapy, is around therapeutically trained practitioners building relationships with young people, to offer them a relational experience of somebody who is attentive, predictable, consistent and caring. The relationship is the intervention.
“We meet the young people out in the community, in spaces where they feel comfortable, rather than expecting them to come to a traditional clinic setting. The aim is to build long-term relationships so that we can support these vulnerable adolescents through the process of growth and development into adulthood. It’s a privilege to be invited into their lives, because they do everything they can to keep people away.”
The V.I.P also works with the people who have a direct impact on these young people’s lives, such as teachers and families. Supporting mothers is often a crucial part of the process, as they’ve often experienced domestic abuse and may be struggling with substance abuse, all of which has become normalised for the young person. By helping to change the eco-system that surrounds the young person, the charity can make a greater impact on their life.
“The way they want to be seen is driven by the need to protect themselves.”
The V.I.P recognises that the violence shown by young people is usually related to a sense of shame. The abuse and trauma they’ve experienced has resulted in severely low self-esteem. If the people who were supposed to care for and protect them didn’t, what does that say about them?
Ashley explains, “Shame is a massive part of what drives our young people’s behaviour – this idea of feeling exposed and doing everything they can to prevent people from seeing their vulnerability. They want to be seen as powerful and in control – somebody that you wouldn’t want to cross.
We help them to recognise that the way they want to be seen is driven by the need to protect themselves, to keep themselves safe, to feel in control and to feel that they have agency in the world.
“As human beings, we’re so dependent on relationships in order to function and to thrive. This ‘protective armour’ that our young people wear stops them from connecting to others. We help them to put down that armour.”
“A lot of these young people can’t imagine a future.”
Ashley shares, “What trauma does to the human brain and the nervous system, is it prevents you from moving forward. A lot of these young people can’t imagine a future because they don’t feel safe enough and don’t believe that they have control over their lives.”
The V.I.P aims to give young people a purpose and show them that a better future is possible. In many cases, this means helping them to get back into school or on a training course and arranging work experience.
Most of the charity’s clients are living in poverty, so enabling them to make money, legally, is crucial. Another key benefit of education and employment is that the young people’s social networks are extended, helping to reduce their isolation and their reliance on gangs.
V.I.P Voice
The V.I.P is one of our Flexible 3 Year Grant holders, receiving £45,000, split over three years. The charity has used some of the money to set up V.I.P Voice – a small committee of former service users. Ashley explains, “These are people in their 20s who have been on a journey with us for several years. They’ve been able to work through their traumas, work through their shame, build positive relationships and secure employment and training. They’re now supporting us by informing what our intervention should look like.”
Ashley found it particularly helpful to have the funding agreed upfront for three years: “Small-to-medium-sized charities are walking a tightrope every year. We’re living in such a financially precarious environment; there have been some real nail-biting moments. Having a grant funder that’s committed to three years is game changing. It offers us structure and stability, which enables us to offer this to our beneficiaries.”
Impact
The V.I.P has worked with more than 200 young people to date, most of whom have seen tangible benefits over the years, such as improved mental health, increased engagement in education and training, and reduced violence. The biggest impact is often around trust and a feeling of safety, both of which are very difficult to quantify. As Ashley says, “How do you measure the impact of a young person feeling safe enough to be able to talk about the most horrifying thing that’s ever happened to them? What does it mean to a young person to be believed?”
“My colleague sent me a text message the other day from a young person saying, ‘I love you.’ This is a boy who’s experienced so much violence, who’s been physically abused by his father, witnessed his mum being torn to pieces and learnt that men are violent and threatening.
“Through three and a half years of consistent work, they’ve built enough safety in their relationship that this young lad now understands, not just that other people can be safe and kind, but that he can be safe and kind too.”
Support the V.I.P
You can donate to support vulnerable young people here.
The charity also offers training in shame-informed practice for organisations that work with young people. The Shame Initiative includes:
- Training for frontline professionals and organisations
- Tools to embed shame-informed principles in everyday practice
- Consultancy with leaders and systems
- Collaboration with academics, funders and policymakers
Email contact@vip.org.uk to find out more or download the brochure here.
