Serious Violence Partnership awards £68,642 to Expand Parents under Pressure program

Northamptonshire Serious Violence Prevention Partnership (NSVPP), has awarded £68,642 to Family Support Link, supporting the expansion of the Northamptonshire Parents under Pressure program (PuP).

The NSVPP first supported the program in 2023 and this new award extends the program to support additional families with complex needs, including parental substance abuse and children either currently engaged with child protection or those who are at imminent risk of going into care. It focuses on working with the parents to develop emotional regulation skills, confidence and be emotionally supportive so they can support their children in developing their own self-regulation.

The expansion of the programme will target early intervention within families that have high risk factors for becoming involved in serious violence. This project is a part of the NSVPP’s proactive public health approach to serious violence, aiming to not just tackling the problem but preventing its occurrence.

It will help protect children and young people from experiencing adverse childhood experiences while building resilience and other protective factors. Addressing these challenges reduces the potential for children to become involved in a life of crime, violence and drugs.

Kate Peake, Chief Executive Officer for Family Support Link, said: “We are thrilled to be awarded the funding to grow and develop our Parents under Pressure programme. We work with families who have often been supported time and again, in ways that have never quite worked for them.

“By taking a positive approach, looking at the strengths within the parents and family we help them take back control of their lives and have hope for the future. We’ve seen first-hand the impact of this project and are hugely excited that we are now able to expand it.”

Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone said: “Giving effective support services to young people is so important when it comes to preventing them from becoming involved in serious violence or criminal behaviour.

“We need to understand the root causes behind this kind of behaviour so that we can come up with solutions to tackle it, and this is one of my key priorities since becoming the Commissioner in May.

“By equipping parents with the skills they need so that they can help their own children, I have no doubt the Parents Under Pressure program is going to be hugely influential in helping to divert young people across the county away from a life of crime and improving their quality of life, and I am delighted to be able to support the work they do.”