Sue Pigott and Nicola Martin, from our Your Voice team, went along to this event and received a cheque for Talkback for £4,250.

This funding from Thames Valley Police, will be used to create a short film looking at educating autistic people and people with a learning disability on how to be safer in the community. These films will carry on the work we started last year, producing free Cyber Crime training resources.

Sue Pigott said: “We are planning to create a short film which centres around the issues of modern slavery, drug trafficking, and cuckooing. Autistic individuals and people with a learning disability are often at risk of these, so our primary aim will be to support individuals to better understand what is meant by these terms. We will also highlight the risks and dangers and advise individuals on how to protect themselves. This will have the secondary benefit of raising an awareness to support workers, carers, employers, and community leaders to these issues, which will offer an insight into recognising warning signs, and supporting individuals to report to the police.”

The ceremony was led by the Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber. During the ceremony there were presentations from organisations who had received funding from Thames Valley Community Fund in the last year. Each of them talked about how the funding had helped their organisations in many ways, from security for their premises to funding volunteers to help keep the streets safer at night, especially for vulnerable people.

Talkback’s cheque was presented by the Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber and  Chief Constable, John Campbell.

Pictured, from left to right: TVP Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber, Sue Pigott, Nicola Martin, and Chief Constable John Campbell.