C.I.C

 

Wanted Not Wasted was formed in March 2012. We are a non profit making Community Interest Company. We have a small dedicated team of staff and volunteers, who come mainly from the local community.

 

We set up our service because we identified that there were some children who were spending a large proportion of their time on the streets on the Bournville estate in Weston Super Mare. We wanted to provide somewhere for them to go which was non threatening, safe and fun. We also wanted to help them address some of the issues in their lives that they were struggling with.

 

In May 2012 we opened a drop in for children from an empty shop on the estate with support from Alliance Homes.

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We rely on grant funding and donations and are currently funded by Alliance Homes, North Somerset Council, Quartet and the National Lottery.

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We believe in early and timely intervention and all our services are aimed at helping children reach adulthood safely, as well as mitigating against harm that they may have already been exposed to.

 

From our very small beginnings we now provide children's groups two days a week and free one to one support (counselling and mentoring) to children aged 5-18 years, four days a week in the WOW Shop and local community. We also provide counselling at Broadoak Academy.

 

In the WOW Shop we aim to first meet children’s practical needs by providing food, warmth and safety, and then help them to address any emotional or behavioural difficulties by providing them with someone to talk to and supporting them with their daily struggles. We also provide positive moments of intervention around any trauma they may have suffered within a context of play and care.  Once children feel safe and reach a place of stability, we help them to identify skills and interests and so develop aspirations for the future.

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