There will be few schoolchildren across South Yorkshire who haven’t experienced a visit to the Lifewise Centre.
The centre, based in Hellaby, Rotherham, uses interactive scenarios to educate children and provide them with the skills and knowledge they need to make informed decisions in everyday situations.
From antisocial behaviour and road safety to child criminal exploitation and knife crime, the interactive safety centre covers it all thanks to SYP’s longstanding collaboration with South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue through the Joint Community Safety Department (JCSD).
The services offered by the centre are designed in collaboration with community safety staff, PCSOs, volunteers, representatives from the First bus company, road safety officers and magistrates. On the set you can visit a number of different areas including magistrates’ court, a bus, a local shop, a prison cell and more.
Community Safety Manager Margaret Lawson said: “Our primary focus is using education and early intervention to keep members of our community safe, and we are extremely proud of the services we provide.
“Working in collaboration with different partners allows us to constantly update the services we offer and ensure the messages and advice are relevant and engaging. This makes what we do at Lifewise unique, and we’ve seen the positive impact this has on improving community safety.”
To support more vulnerable members of our communities, Lifewise also host ‘WiseUP’ events tailored to different age groups, and ‘Adapting to Life in the UK’ sessions for new citizens living in the UK. Again, the JCSD works in partnership with local third sector organisations to deliver these events and covers subjects such as rogue traders, fraud, online crime, driving perceptions and the Herbert Protocol (a risk reduction tool to be used in the event of a vulnerable adult going missing).
Everyone is welcome at Lifewise and to find out more about the services on offer, please visit www.lifewise999.co.uk