Every year we support 56,000 of victims affected by crime in North London.
One of the people we’ve helped to cope is Mine* who has experienced antisocial behaviour.
Mine was referred to Victim Support (VS) by the police after she was threatened with a knife when confronting youths smoking drugs in a communal area of her home address.
The group were constantly harassing her every time she went out and Mine’s 11 year old brother was also affected by the incident. After initial discussions with Victim Support, Mine requested advocacy with the council, her housing officer and the police as well as emotional support to help her overcome the effects of the incident.
Working with Victim Support, Mine received assistance from the special protection scheme for her home address. For immediate reassurance, Mine’s Victim Support caseworker also provided a personal alarm to her and her brother. The Victim Support caseworker made regular contact with Mine, as well as emailing relevant involved parties, such as the police and her housing officer to ensure that Mine’s housing transfer progressed quickly. This was especially important as Mine raised her fears that further incidents with the gang might occur. Through effective joint working with the Haringey antisocial behaviour team, the Victim Support caseworker was able to ensure that Mine’s case was discussed at a Haringey panel meeting far more quickly than expected.
The harassment from the gang also had an emotional impact on Mine and her brother so the caseworker encouraged her to get in touch with her GP for counselling as well as calling her regularly to provide emotional support. Mine advised that as a result of VS involvement, she has felt more comfortable and much safer.
While receiving support, Mine also expressed concerned in the change in behaviour of her younger brother and that she feared he may get involved in gang activity. As a result, the caseworker made a referral to social services and continued to liaise with them. Mine was also encouraged by the caseworker to get in touch with her brother’s school and inform them of her concerns. Following this, Mine started to work with the school and this had a positive impact on her own outlook. For additional support around Mine’s concerns on possible gang affiliation the caseworker referred her brother to Safer London for more specialised help.