About Us
Mission
Our mission is to provide non-judgemental support for people within the night-time economy and beyond. To provide real life education to young people enabling them to make informed choices, reducing harm and risk-taking behaviours. Alongside providing learning, training and mentored opportunities to up skill our wider community, creating champions to address issues affecting us all.
Vison
Our vision is to create safer spaces at all events across the UK and overseas, giving people access to support around substances, mental health, well-being and sexual health. We want people to have access to support at events to enable them to have the best possible experiences. To reach out to more young people and give them the best education to reduce harm and provide more training to volunteers, parents and professionals around event welfare and the issues affecting vulnerable people within our communities
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WELFARE
W.E.L.Safe CIC is a not for profit organisation that provides confidential and non-judgemental information and support around issues such as drugs and alcohol, mental health and wellbeing and sexual health at festivals and events across the UK and Europe.
Our aim is to enable festival/party goers to stay safe in the night time economy and to offer support to people who may be experiencing problems as a result of their use of drugs and/or alcohol, as well as helping to reduce harm and risk taking behaviour for each individual and into the wider society. We work to a harm reduction model in drugs, alcohol, tobacco, NPS, sexual health, mental health and well-being.
We offer support to people who are attending events and may need a space to recuperate, relax and chat in confidential space away from the full impact of the event.
We rely on volunteers who have a passion for helping people. We have ongoing opportunities throughout the year at events and have delivered welfare at events such as - The Warehouse Project, The Albert Hall Manchester, Parklife, YNOT Festival, Fabric London, Outlook Festival, Dimensions, Hideout all in Croatia, Lost and Found in Malta and Snowbombing in Austria as well as some private events.
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EDUCATION
W.E.L.Safe delivers fun, interactive and educational sessions to young people around a host of social care topics such as substance misuse, sexual health, mental health and how to stay safe in the communities we live in. These sessions are bespoke to the needs of our target audience and can be amended to cover any specific issue in detail. If you are a youth and community group, school, college or university or any group that works with young people, please get in touch.
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LEARNING
We also deliver training and other learning experiences to volunteers, parents and professionals. We can create bespoke training to suit your needs or the needs of your organisation, with the most up to date and relevant information around the issues affecting young people and vulnerable adults around substance misuse, mental health and sexual health.
We also deliver full training for all our volunteers in festival welfare, which can also be adapted for event and festival staff.
W.E.L.Safe also delivers accredited training Level 1 in Safeguarding and Substance Misuse, awarded by Open Awards
Meet The Team
Gemma - Founding Director
Gemma has over 20 years experience of supporting young people, families, communities and professionals in a range of capacities, including substance misuse services, youth offending teams, alternative educational settings alongside third sector organisations. From all this experience Gemma has gained a massive insight into the issues and difficulties that a lot of young people and communities face today and the difficult situations they may face.
Gemma is a fully qualified substance misuse counsellor, alongside being a fully qualified and experienced trainer and group work practitioner. She has delivered many training and educational programs to groups such as the NHS, various local authorities, Greater Manchester Police, Salford, Manchester and Liverpool youth services, Her Majesty’s prison service and other statutory and third sector providers, alongside participating in government advisor groups to develop new substance misuse and youth and community strategies. For the last 5 years she has held leadership roles, including founding W.E.L.Safe and developing it into the multifaceted striving organisation it is today with the support of Elise and our excellent team of volunteers.
Elise - Director
Elise comes from a family of youth and community workers, so working with people was always in her blood. Elise started volunteering at a very young age and worked on festivals projects and events, youth organisations, voluntary sector, corporate businesses and council projects, which has given her a range of experiences in assessing and responding to identified needs, providing people of all ages with support and advice with day to day difficulties and enabling them to find solutions in overcoming barriers to their education, employment and other life and social issues as they arise. Elise is a fully qualified youth and community worker, mental health first aider and trained drugs and alcohol worker and currently runs a youth and community arts organisation alondside W.E.L.Safe, they both marry perfectly together. With over 20 years experience of working in a variety of settings creating positive experiences and meeting people who have helped influence ideas and widen her horizons.
Michelle - Director
Michelle is passionate about working in the field of drugs and alcohol. Having worked in the field since 2007, as a researcher, as a practitioner, and as a volunteer. Michelle did her degree BSc in Psychology as she is interested in decision making, human behaviour, and how to ease the pain and suffering we have all felt at some point. Michelle has completed an MSc in Public health, which looks at social issues and life chances for people. Public Health is the umbrella of health and will give her an opportunity to contribute towards research, systems, and policy changes. Michelle wrote her dissertation on young people and their alcohol use and have found that young people not only use alcohol to have fun they use it when they are low. Therefore, she is passionate about good wellbeing. Michelle is a lover of creating things and art and was a teacher in a mental health hospital volunteering where it allows people to express themselves. Michelle has herself had time out due to a car crash and a spinal cord injury and developing PTSD, therefore her compassion and empathy has grown for people in every way.
Chris - Community Development
W.E.L.Safe in numbers 2023...
Embracing Growth, Impact, and Community
What a year it's been! In 2023, we've seen incredible growth, engagement, and impact, all thanks to the support of our fantastic volunteers and communities. Here's a quick rundown of our achievements:
🌟Volunteers: Welcoming 295 new volunteers nationwide, our family of dedicated individuals continues to grow stronger. Their passion and commitment bolster our efforts in every aspect of W.E.L.Safe.
🤝 Community Connections: Engaging in 92 impactful events throughout the UK and overseas, alongside 6 local community collaborations, we've fostered connections with diverse groups including youth organisations, schools, universities, and health institutions
💙 Welfare Support: Providing essential support to 3978 individuals facing various challenges including substance use, mental health issues, safeguarding concerns, and more. Our provision extended to over 200k interactions, offering vital resources such as earplugs, phone charging, first aid supplies, contraceptives, and even fashion fixes!
📚Training Initiatives: Empowering our volunteers through comprehensive training programs, we conducted 18 events covering vital topics such as festival welfare, substance misuse, safeguarding, and medical awareness. Our commitment to volunteer development remains steadfast as we continue to enhance skills and knowledge.
🎪Youth Outreach: Whether it's at festivals, events, or even those "oops, wrong place" moments for under 18s, we're committed to keeping everyone safe and supported, we uphold our mission to provide safety and support to all individuals, regardless of circumstance.
🌍 Global Impact: Taking our mission beyond borders, we traversed 5 countries and 13 cities, delivering welfare services to communities far and wide. Each journey was an opportunity to spread compassion and make a meaningful difference.
As we gear up for 2024, we're ready to keep the momentum going strong. Together, let's make this year even better than the last. Thanks for being part of our journey—we couldn't do it without you! ✨