Modern Slavery Sheffield: Teenagers transform garden for modern slavery survivors

The group of 15-17 year-olds, who are part of the Sheffield branch of the National Citizenship Service (NCS) connected to Sheffield Wednesday, created the oasis of calm as part of their voluntary summer work.

Kyle France, Accommodation Manager at City Hearts South Yorkshire, the charity which runs a safehouse for men rescued from exploitation, said: “The hard work of the NCS team has totally transformed the garden.

“They’ve saved us hundreds of pounds and they were great to have around. It was also great to see young people so eager to help create change in their community. We can’t thank them enough.”

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Programmes run by the NCS enable young people to develop new skills and gain confidence while helping to improve their local community.

In early July, the group took part in a sponsored walk where they raised almost £900 to spend on developing the facilities at the safehouse which provides a safe space for modern slavery survivors.

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Once the money had been raised, the NCS team spent an afternoon clearing the weeds from the back garden of the safehouse, cutting the grass and planting hundreds of flower and vegetable seeds in new patches.

With the money left over, the group bought a weightlifting bench and weights for the men in the safehouse to exercise with.

City Hearts is a rapidly growing charity providing a number of safehouses across the region for victims of modern slavery, if you wish to find out more about them, you can find their website here.