Stay True to You campaign

Stay True to You – behaviour change campaign

In 2022 – 2023, we undertook research with young people to better understand their experiences and perceptions of violence, what causes it, what can help prevent it and how we can best communicate with young people to positively change behaviours.

We published the findings in a comprehensive report “Violence in the Thames Valley” in January 2023.

Across our partnership, there was a demand to develop a single shared approach to communicating with young people to address the risks of being drawn into crime and violence, in particular knife crime.

We have worked with award-winning behavioural change communications agency, Claremont Communications, to develop the research insights and use these to inform a new approach which is shared across all our local partnerships.

The strapline “Stay true to you” comes from what young people told us, that they wanted to make their own decisions, would walk their own path and would put themselves first. But, what they needed was positive support from adults they trust, non-judgemental relationships and good conversations to help them make their own decisions, and to be there if they needed help.

We have created a new standalone website, with a set of resources for young people, parents/communities, and practitioners: www.staytruetoyou.co.uk

We are working with the Ben Kinsella Trust to offer online parents information sessions and also training for practitioners in the use of the Stay True to You resources.

Registration is via the following links:

Teachers and Education Professionals:

Youth workers, sports coaches, community groups, volunteers

Parents/carers, family members