A PROJECT funded by Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson was given a boost as they were granted £3,000 to help teenagers learn about healthy relationships.

Mr Macpherson visited Splitz Support Service in Trowbridge this week to find out how TeenzTalk is impacting on the lives of young people in Wiltshire.

The project has received £3,000 from the PCC’s fund which is managed by the Community Foundation.

TeenzTalk was helped by Mr Macpherson’s Innovation Fund in 2014 and has now won further funding to safeguard the project for an extra three years.

Young people support service coordinator Sam Cooper said: “TeenzTalk is a course that all young people would benefit from attending to help them learn about healthy relationships and give them the skills to manage their emotions.

“We have seen that having these skills not only improves school work and concentration levels but also plays a positive role in improving relationships and communication at home with parents and siblings.”

More than eight out of ten young people who signed up have completed the ten-week course which covered conflict resolution, teenage partner abuse, peer pressure, online safety and discussed their goals and aspirations.

The latest grant from the PCC enabled ten young people to have intensive one-to-one support at Splitz – a registered charity which offers support for children, families and adults experiencing separation, divorce and domestic violence and abuse.

Mr Macpherson said that education goes beyond academic subjects and exams. He added: “It is important that young people leave school understanding the importance of relationships and managing emotions. The TeenzTalk project equips young people with life skills that will help them as adults.

“Protecting vulnerable children and adults is one of the top priorities in my Police and Crime Plan.

“Through my local commissioning programme and grant funding I have invested in services provided by Splitz that work to protect those most vulnerable in our communities; through educating young people, supporting those people at high risk of harm from domestic abuse and provision of outreach services for victims of domestic abuse.”

TeenzTalk is just one of the Splitz programmes backed by the commissioner.