Future Directions鈥� SPICE group launches Safe Places scheme in Stockport
19 Aug 2022
3 min read
With funding from Stockport Council, Future Directions CIC have launched a Safe Places scheme across Stockport Borough, to help keep local community safe.
Safe Places is a national programme to help people stay safe while out and about in their community, with a network of Safe Places set up around the country. Care provider Future Directions’ SPICE group, made up of people with a learning disability, has launched a Safe Places scheme in Stockport, providing places where anyone can go to when in need of a safe spot.
A Safe Place enables any person who may feel at risk, including people with a learning disability and autism spectrum conditions to seek refuge in a safe and supportive environment. Safe Places can be shops, public buildings, or local businesses. The Stockport Safe Place scheme covers the whole of the Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council boundary, from Cheadle to Marple, as well as Stockport town centre. The scheme is intended to provide a short-term place of safety that people can go to if they feel scared or threatened when out and about.
To sign up to the scheme, each business needs to be open to the public and be fully accessible for people with disabilities. If assistance from the emergency services is needed, the police or ambulance could be called from there. The person can stay at the Safe Place until they feel safe to leave. All participating businesses and public places display a Safe Places window sticker on their premises which identifies them as a Safe Place.
Future Directions provides a training video and information pack to support local organisations who sign up to the scheme, so they know what to do if a vulnerable person comes to them needing support.
The SPICE group at Future Directions is made up of people with a learning disability who are employed as experts by experience. It’s important that people with lived experience are leading this project and are working in their local community to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and initiate change.
Jenny Neville, Project Manager at Future Directions, says:
Everyone has the right to feel safe. The Safe Place scheme is a really simple way of giving people confidence so they can go out and feel safe in their community, safe in the knowledge that if something does happen, they have safe places where they can seek help. So far we鈥檝e had a really positive response from local businesses and organisations in Stockport and it鈥檚 great to see the community coming together to make a positive difference.
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