GVO Safe Spaces CIC is a lifeline for young people who for some have had to grow up fast.

Some are care experienced. Some are battling anxiety, isolation, or school avoidance. Some just need one safe adult and one safe space to land that gets them out of their bedrooms or off the streets.

Our GVO Safe Spaces programme gives them exactly that — warmth, food, creativity, mentoring, music, and community. A place where they can show up exactly as they are and still be held.

But here’s what makes us different:

Our youth mentors are mostly care leavers and young people who were once NEET themselves.

They’ve lived it. They get it. And now they’re in purposeful employment, using their experience to guide younger peers through the same challenges they once faced.

When you donate, you’re not just supporting young people —

you’re helping young adults stay in meaningful work and become role models in their own community. To date we have been involved and made many impactful films and theatre productions raising awareness on social issues of generational trauma, PTSD of youth workers, 'Lives not Knives' and child explioitation. These things take a great deal of time, energy and money to produce but our commitment is strong.

Your support creates real, tangible moments of safety, joy, and stability:

• £3 — gives a young person a warm meal in our cooking sessions

• £12 — covers a cinema ticket + travel, giving someone a rare chance to just be a kid

• £25 — pays for one hour of music studio or theatre, kitchen hire, where young people have the opportunity to socialise, hangout, create, heal, and express themselves

• £30 — funds a walk and talk mentoring session, supporting anxious or at risk children with school pickups and emotional support.

£35 covers an hours interviewing/research/script and film editing

Anthea Cribbin began this venture almost five years ago as a freelancer and then single mum when she was called to action by noticing an increase in knife harm, anti social behaviour and a lack of safe spaces in the area for young people to use for free. The young people have one rule, to have 'good vibes only' in session and in their lives the best way they can.

We are now a not for profit community interest company. This means we can officially apply for grant funding. For those of you who may know, the larger size grants require two years of accounts for the registered company. This is a long time off for us. In the meantime we are raising funds through producing visual art at Makers Markets. We would like to continue the good work we are doing until these grants become available and that's why we are here asking for YOUR support.

Every pound helps us keep our projects and services going, young people safe, while also keeping our young mentors in meaningful, paid work in their own communities.

If you’ve ever needed someone to believe in you, you know how much this matters.

Help us keep this space alive.

Help us keep them going.

Help us keep the good vibes only, going for longer.