A FUNDING boost of £1million will help a Gwent-wide scheme for missing and vulnerable children to support victims of child sexual exploitation (CSE), trafficking and modern day slavery.

Breaking the Cycle, co-ordinated by the Gwent Missing Children’s team, involves the five local authorities in Gwent, the police, health, social services and education coming together to combat the issue.

The project hub was launched at Rodney Parade on Thursday to outline how the programme, first launched in 2013, will progress over the next five years aided by the Big Lottery Fund.

A survivor of child sexual exploitation, whose identity is protected for legal reasons, spoke at the launch to give her account of how the service has helped.

“I was 12 when I started taking drugs and alcohol and getting into the wrong crowd of people,” she said.

“It became a natural thing to take drugs and drink and it just progressed for a little bit.

“Then an older man, who was a lot older than me, would pick me and my friend up in his car and take us places and buy us alcohol and give us money for drugs.

“He gave me gifts. He told me he loved me and tell me that we’d get married when I was 18.”

“Then it just went on like that for quite a while.”

The scheme operates as every child reported missing or absent to Gwent Police has the opportunity to speak with a youth worker in relation to their situation.

Following this the information resulting from the debrief interviews enables Breaking the Cycle to greater protect the most vulnerable children, and aspects of the Gwent programme have been rolled out across the UK, signalling good practice.

Jeff Farrar, Gwent Police’s chief constable, said: “Missing children has always been an area police officers have found really difficult and challenging to deal with.

“Asking those questions about how they are actually operating and the things they are doing is just so, so important.

“What has worked really well with the missing children project here in Gwent is that opportunity for the five local authorities, health, the police, the third sector all to come together and work as one public service in dealing with some of the problems.

“There’s still a long way to go on this but the opportunities we’ve had so far have been superb and we have really made a big difference on vulnerable children’s lives.

“I actually think it’s the model for the future and the support from the Big Lottery in allowing us to carrying this on for the next five years is absolutely outstanding.”

Visit breakingthecycle.org.uk/home/.