The Latest
Jigsaw4u Annual Report 2007-2008
Published on October 24, 2008
In the past eleven years we have worked with in excess of ten thousand children and young people. This year we are working with nearly two thousand children, young people and adults who have experienced a range of loss and trauma issues.
We have ensured that their voices are heard and responded to by providing individual support, group work, a variety of forum opportunities, workshops, child-led conferences, consultations and above all by listening. The main themes of the activities fall into four main service areas:
- Advocacy
- Grief support
- Home-school
- Participation
Jigsaw4u has three areas of particular strength, it provides specialist support to children and young people who are experiencing various forms of loss and trauma - bereavement, disability, separation and abuse in a range of different settings, it has always provided child and young person centred work and it works creatively in a range of partnerships in order to respond quickly. The services outlined within this annual report highlights the ability of Jigsaw4u to provide effective services and that the outcomes achieved for children and young people ensure that they develop resilience for their futures whilst also meeting the aims of the Every Child Matters agenda.
This year has seen the ongoing acknowledgement and development of skills and expertise which has led to an exciting range of developing partnerships with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (UK), a number of companies participating in our Social Entrepreneur Challenge and 12 young people planning to trek across the Sinai Desert to raise funds to enable the development of grief support across Surrey. I am most grateful to Susan Braithwaite for her PR and marketing skills and for the effective partnerships that have been forged as a result and also to Seth Smith for the development of the new website and our new logo as well as the E-Newsletter, Mailing List and Online Store, all of which are just being launched at the time of writing this.
Our Vision for the Future
We seek to increase the awareness of the impact of grief, loss and trauma on children and young people whist also equipping professionals will the skills and tools to provide the services that families need. We will continue to develop services in Mitcham and to develop the East Grinstead Office to provide a comprehensive grief support service for Surrey and parts of Kent and Sussex whilst:
- Developing regional centres of excellence to train and equip professionals with the tool-box of skills and techniques that they need to work with children who have experienced loss and trauma.
- Increasing the impact of our ambassadorial role and that of agents of change in raising awareness of the issue and contributing our expertise in research and policy development.
Click HERE to download the full version of the Annual Report (PDF File)
