let���s get out dorset
Bournemouth
I HAVE A PASSION AND A BELIEF I have worked with young people for 17 years, I
started working with young people in 2004 within a youth club, that provided a
safe space for young people to engage in many activities. Very quickly I found
my passion which is helping young people to make positive choices in their
lives. Whilst my time was spent with a diverse group of young people, I realised
that I had a passion working with the more challenging young people, usually the
ones that get forgotten because they’re not turning up for school or their
behaviours are very challenging because maybe they have emotional behavioural
difficulties including risky behaviours. With these challenges I conducted risk
assessments, whilst keeping young people at the heart of any action undertaken.
These young people are the ones central to what I believe is my mission. I
wanted to work primarily with young people who for some reason or another had
conflict within their life. My belief is, no matter what, everybody needs
somebody to believe in them, even when they struggle to believe in themselves.
This led to more responsibility in my role as a youth worker. I started doing
one-to-one work with challenging young people, working on a project that targets
young people who are at risk of becoming marginalised. When further cuts to
Youth service's were sanctioned young people suffered the most, this had a knock
on effect to local crime figures rocketing. Young people with no direction or
safe spaces to grow, the fundamental nature of being young is lost and in too
many cases to mention, young people often find themselves in an environment
where peer pressure is rooted in dysfunction, this in my experience is the
perfect storm for disaster. Over the last decade since the cuts to youth work it
has become more challenging to engage young people. I found myself taking my
passion to help young people who were in a residential care setting where they
were having the most difficult time of their lives. But again through one to one
Key work supporting young people to make changes and experience alternative
support such as green activities, I found that these activities help toward
emotional stability. Activities can include night fishing, paddle boarding, kite
surfing or whatever the young person chooses. If an idea or activity is brought
to me I will only consider this after a thorough risk assessment and if
successful together we will implement the activity in our one to one sessions,
this serves as a way of including young people in their own support package. My
aim, together with young people would be to re-introduce them to education,
society and family living through mediation and support. I will be introducing
young people to resilience building techniques that will have far reaching
benefits that will stay with them throughout life, better preparing them for
challenges life will bring. Outdoor activities reduce isolation, encourages
change and builds confidence rather than being stuck indoors on their consoles
confined to their bedrooms in isolation but getting out and enjoying nature and
fun activities. please follow the hyperlink below Whilst doing all this creating
a safe, positive, caring environment providing a consistent, reliable
relationship with good boundaries. I then changed and went back to mentoring and
again I have worked with some of the hardest to reach young people. I have a
belief that everyone deserves to be given a helping hand. Whether they have been
exploited with crime eg. CSE or County Lines, Gang Culture, Knife Crime, this
can cause young people to be trapped in a cycle of fear that they can’t get out
of,I believe no young person should be exposed to negative cycles like those
mentioned above. This leads to isolation within their families and communities.
Evidence is emerging during the current climate i.e Covid 19 has had a
detrimental effect on young people regarding their mental wellbeing. Isolation
breeds dysfunction which can contribute to anxiety and dysfunctional behavior
finding It difficult to reintegrate back into society. which for some could even
mean not being able to leave the house. My passion is to help turn young
people's lives around and build resilience. empowering them to do things they
really enjoy. In doing so this will help build up life skills that will
inevitably serve them well with the challenges that life will bring. I will
support them to be the best young person they can become and enjoy a safe caring
and sustainable life which we all deserve.
