Brave Futures is so pleased to have been chosen by ISSBA as their supported Charity of the Year for 2026/2027. For those of you who don’t know too much about us here is a little introduction to let you know how important the charity is and we are looking forward to the partnership ahead.
About Brave Futures:
Brave Futures is a local charity based in Ipswich and provides specialist support to children and young people who have sadly been victims of sexual abuse. We work with children from as young as three, up to 18 years old. Children often enter our service full of shame and guilt. Our amazing Practitioners take then through a treatment plan to help them make sense of the confusion they feel and teach them coping strategies to enable them to recover from the trauma they have experienced. We also support the rest of the family, including parents/carers and siblings. We work across Suffolk and Norfolk and support approximately 400 children and young people each year.
Why our work is needed:
An estimated one in ten children are victims of sexual abuse. This amounts to approximately three children in every classroom. This means that around 14,000 children and young people in Suffolk need our support, either now or in the near future. The demand for our service has increased in recent months. Every area we work in has seen a rise in demand and in some places, referrals have increased by 36% in the past year.
How we work:
All of our practitioners are trained in the NSPCC ‘Letting The Future In’ programme; one of the top NICE Our sessions, which are run by one of our practitioners, typically last for one hour and take place weekly. During the sessions, we use a range of approaches, including cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness, systemic therapy and psycho-educational work. For smaller children, we use creative tools, including sand play, puppets, games, drawing and painting. As part of their sessions, we help the child or young person to put together a self-soothe box to take away. These are filled with items to comfort or distract them when they feel distressed or anxious.
Events and Corporate Support:
On the Fundraising side of the charity we have some amazing corporate sponsors and volunteers who are the backbone and heart and soul of the charity. Our events are always fun and becoming very well known with our biggest one being the Dragonboat Festival on the Ipswich Waterfront each June and it has become a juggernaut, with approximately 30 businesses entering teams and competing for the big trophy.
We are always coming up with other whacky ideas to engage with the Corporate and Community in Suffolk to raise the awareness of Brave Futures so that the families and children know where to come for the help they so desperately need.
At the core of the charity and everything we do is the children. They are amazing and resilient.
Please find below some quotes from children and young people who have received our support:
“Thank you so much for everything you have done for me over the past year. You have helped me so much. I feel so much more comfortable and confident within myself. I have cherished our time together and I will never forget what you have done for me and the positive impact you have made on my life.” 16-year-old
“Thank you for always being there and for being some kind of consistent for me when things have been weird. I have learnt a lot and I have come a long way, and despite my pessimism sometimes I am quite excited to see what is in store in the future. I am sure this job is already quite fulfilling, although difficult, but I hope you know what an impact you have had on me and that your job really does change lives. I hope to go far and one day if I see you again I hope you will be proud of me. Thank you.” 17-year-old
Thank you ISSBA for standing together with us and bringing this subject out into the open, if we talk, the children will talk and we help to enable them to move from victim to survivor.
Registered Charity no. 1149347. Website: www.bravefutures.org
