Nay Girelli | August 2026
My journey into Safer Lives began in February 2026 as a Parent Programme Officer (PPO), and it has been one of the most significant turns in my career. Coming from a background of working one-to-one with families of children under five years old, mostly through home visits and prevention work, I now find myself facilitating group sessions with parents of 11–18‑year‑olds involved with Youth Justice Services. Working across these two worlds has transformed how I understand the needs of families.
In my previous role as Assistant Practitioner for Speech and Language for Start For Life, I witnessed that families rarely needed support from multiple services. Parents were the centre of their child’s universe, and our work focused on early development and safety. In SL, the picture is different. Many families are already navigating multiple professionals, diagnoses, and crises. The challenges they are facing in the present mean that the work requires a different kind of listening and flexibility.
Unlike Start for Life, where all the referred families had the option to participate, Safer Lives is a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT). This adds an additional layer of complexity – at first, I underestimated how emotionally demanding it would be, both for families and for myself. After completing the baseline questionnaires, some parents were randomised out, and their disappointment was raw:
“I had so much hope this programme would change things for me.”
“Nothing good ever happens to me.”
“I opened up to my manager and she said I could be part of the group, and now I’m out?”
These reactions reminded me that families arrive with courage. They want to be part of something that might help them rewrite their story. The RCT isn’t just a research tool; it also holds families’ hopes, fears, and the emotional risk of trying again.
The differences between working with early years families and those on the Safer Lives programme were also visible in my relationships with caseworkers. In early years services, many parents were at the beginning of their parenting journey and eager for guidance. In comparison, within Youth Justice Services, practitioners are often cautious about introducing something new to families who are already overwhelmed. I learned how to gently introduce the study, focusing on trust, tone, and reassurance. As one note in my reflections says:
“Chain of trust: Slowly we build a relationship with them and try to make them feel what we expect the families will feel.”
Now, when delivering the 13‑week SFSC: Safer Lives programme, I see how my early‑years experience helps me appreciate the long and winding road that many families have to navigate – from the challenges of infancy to the pressures of adolescence. Safer Lives is a bridge between these worlds. It offers parents a chance to pause, reflect, and reconnect with hope.
There is one thing in common that I see in these families: how much parents are guided by guilt. Whether they are worrying about introducing solid foods to a baby, helping a child to develop social skills, or supporting a teenager at risk of offending, many parents share a fear of not doing enough. This is true across backgrounds, religions, and cultures.
At the Race Equality Foundation, I found a space where I could reflect with families about this feeling of guilt, acknowledge these emotions without judgement, and think together about practical steps towards change. Together, we can leave behind the past, practise self-forgiveness, and begin writing a new chapter. The project is demanding, but deeply meaningful. It reminds me daily that change is possible, and these parents, regardless of their children’s age, deserve spaces where they feel supported, respected, and hopeful.
