Eighteen and Under, home of the multi award winning VIP personal safety programme for children, is desperately recruiting volunteers to run personal safety sessions with a ‘slightly older’ age group.

The hugely successful and multi award wining VIP (Violence is Preventable) Programme has won national and international awards for its comprehensive range of personal safety materials. Its success was recognised locally when Eighteen and Under received the first Dundee Partnership Community Safety Award, and nationally with this years Scottish Crime-stoppers Community Safety Award.

One of the key strengths of the programme is how easily the materials can be adapted for use with different groups. Many senior citizens live in fear of crime and some can fall prey to criminals and people who can exploit or abuse them. Some can suffer abuse and neglect at the hands of relatives and carers and some become more at risk of accident and injury indoors, or outdoors, as they grow older. Many lack up to date awareness of safety and health.

Identifying these issues, Eighteen and Under further developed the VIP Programme to work with senior citizens. A pilot has been running in Dundee and has been enormously successful.

Laurie Matthew, coordinator of Eighteen and Under, said, “The senior programme is fully interactive, combining personal safety awareness with singalongs and fun games and activities. Also, there’s no age limit - some of the groups have included members as young as 90! Lack of mobility doesn’t prevent anyone from taking part, as all the materials can be easily adapted to ensure that everyone can be involved. You don’t even have to be able to sing – I’m proof of that.”

The aims of the Senior VIP Project include:

• reducing the fear of crime
• raising awareness about the reality of crime and who to contact if you are a victim of a crime,
• raising awareness about personal safety in its widest context
• identifying strategies to deal with potentially risky or unsafe situations
• becoming more aware about safety and health
• having fun!

The pilot has been a huge success. Prior to the sessions most senior citizens said they didn’t feel safe in their own homes or out on the street. After the sessions almost all said that they felt safer, were more aware of what to do and who to contact and that they had increased self-confidence. The Police have helped to run some of the sessions and when they take part, there is a huge rise in the participants’ confidence in the police force. This really helps to break down barriers between police and the more senior members of our communities.

Eighteen and Under has achieved these results with no funding whatsoever - volunteers have developed all the materials and delivered all of the sessions. However, the Senior VIP programme is in danger of becoming a victim of its own success. As word spreads about this amazing programme and its fantastic results, Eighteen and Under are now inundated with requests to run the programme across Dundee.

Eighteen and Under are currently seeking funding to produce a senior VIP Programme pack which can be used across the UK, but just as importantly, they are desperate for volunteers to help them meet the demand for running Senior VIP sessions.

So, if you’re reading this and are interested in getting involved or want to find out more about the Senior VIP Project contact Laurie Matthew on 01382 206222.

Note to editors:
Further information about

The VIP Programme material - contact Aileen Hunter on 01382 206222 or email Ail8880@aol.com

The Senior VIP Project - contact Laurie Matthew on 01382 206222 or email lormac1053@aol.com