A NEW way of delivering support services in Greater Manchester hopes to give victims of crime the support they need.

Changes are being made in to the way support is delivered throughout Greater Manchester.

The charity Victim Support will continue to drive frontline services but behind the scenes there have been a number of changes.

A new Victim Support gateway service has been launched and is designed to be a one-stop shop for victims of crime, providing people with a single point of contact for immediate advice and guidance, emotional support, advocacy services, and referrals onto specialist services when needed.

It is open to any victim of crime, regardless of when the offence was committed, what it was or whether or not it was reported to the police.

Advisers from Victim Support will now be based in ‘multi-agency hubs’ across Greater Manchester along with staff from other services, including police, housing associations, social care, children’s services and more.

This will better place the charity’s staff to provide victims with information and advice, calling on the services of other agencies when needed.

This access means that they will be able to support victims of crime more easily, provide them with information and refer them onto other specialist services when needed.

Alongside phone and face-to-face support, online live chat and self-help options are also being explored.

The reshaped service has come after 18 months of research, consultation and pilot schemes.

Victim Support victims services director, Ellen Miller, said: “We are very excited to be part of this new approach across Greater Manchester as it will be great for our case workers to be based with other important services that are also really focused on supporting people.”

A new restorative justice strategy has also been agreed to help victims cope and recover from what has happened to them, and reduce reoffending by making offenders face up to the consequences of actions.

The new reshaped service has been commissioned by Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd.

GMP Assistant Chief Constable, Rob Potts, said: “We welcome these developments within victim services.

“It will improve the way that we respond to the most vulnerable people in our society and ensuring individuals are at the heart of everything that we do.

“These changes will help us to continue to work closely with partners across Greater Manchester and ensure that everyone we support gets the best possible care from the best possible provider.”