PCC visits North Somerset

Posted at 12:09 on 29th August 2024 in Engagement Days

Clare pictured with four people looking to camera

PCC Clare Moody pictured with VRP colleague Lisa Vango, VANS Chief Executive Dr Mandy Gardner, David Crossman and Tours Blackwell

PCC Clare Moody visited North Somerset last week to meet with community groups and professionals from the local Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) and community safety teams. The VRP brings together specialist partners to identify and understand the underlying causes of local violent crime and provide an effective response to reduce and deter people from carrying out these crimes.

These visits were arranged as part of Clare’s 100-day engagements across the five local authority areas in Avon and Somerset, since her election in May.

Clare started the day by visiting North Somerset Council where she met with Howard Pothecary, Community Safety Manager, Fiona Dixon, Substance Use Commissioning Manager in Public Health and Regulatory Services, Clair Sandilands, Violence Reduction and Interventions Manager – VRP and Start to Finish, and others.

Clare was given an overview of the team structure, followed by an update on North Somerset’s drug and alcohol strategy and insights from their annual report, as well as information about commissioned drug and alcohol services delivered by the North Somerset charity, WithYou.

Clare was also given a briefing about some of the VRP work aimed at addressing serious youth violence in the area, which includes education and awareness projects within schools, such as the Blunt Truth sessions – delivered in partnership with the Army they educate young people on the consequences of carrying a knife, encouraging them to report if they know someone is carrying a knife and offering practical first-aid skills to help if someone has been stabbed .

Clare also had a tour of the CCTV centre, talking with the team about their work and the importance of partnerships in keeping communities safe.

Following this, Clare was accompanied by Fiona Dixon to visit WithYou North Somerset, where they met with Jill Foulds, Gill Flanagan and Nick Blackshaw (pictured below, also with VRP colleague Lisa Vango).

WithYou is a drug, alcohol and mental health charity, with over 80 services across England and Scotland, providing support and advice to more than 100,000 people a year.

Clare ended the day by visiting Voluntary Action North Somerset (VANS), where she met with the charity’s Chief Executive Dr Mandy Gardner, David Crossman and Tours Blackwell, at the Food Works in Weston-Super-Mare (pictured below). VANS is an independent charity that has championed the voluntary sector and volunteering across North Somerset for over 25 years.