In the last newsletter, we started to explain our approach to youth work and why we do the things we do. We talked through our initial focus on engaging young people, getting to know them and building positive relationships.

So, what do we do with this engagement and these positive relationships?

The relationships we build with young people create a safe space for a young person to talk with a trusted adult, in a variety of contexts, in an open and honest way with someone who is ‘on their side’. Youth workers listen and help young people reflect, without judgement or expectation.

Listening to young people also helps us understand the challenges and struggles they have, enabling us to design with them activities and opportunities which support a journey of change and development. Many of the challenges young people face are beyond their ability, and our ability to control or influence, so often our work is focused on helping young people develop the skills, tools and habits to navigate through their challenges while maintaining their wellbeing and positivity. Challenges young people face include anxiety and pressure in school, fear of and/or involvement in antisocial behaviour and violence, loneliness and difficult friendships and complex home and family lives.

Our activities which contribute towards this fall into two broad categories:

Firstly, experiences which promote personal development – memory making events, friendship building opportunities, trips and new experiences. These may be within regular weekly sessions, but we also use the extra time we have in school holidays to do more on this theme.

Secondly, topic based work – groups which address specific issues which young people have raised, or want to find support with. These may run for just a few weeks with a specifically invited group of young people or may be added to on-going sessions and activities.

A well run short course, or a single amazing trip, rarely creates an instant change in a young person’s life. Time and consistency are important – we are here for the long haul and love it when we get the chance to reflect and look back to see how things have changed.