Bridging the gap
When I was a child, the thought of getting into trouble, being excluded, moving schools, and getting involved in illegal activity was beyond what I could imagine. This is the case for many young people in Oxford.
However, it is also the case that exclusion, school moves and involvement in illegal activity is completely normal for some young people. It is these young people, who experience the abnormal as ‘normal’, who require targeted intervention. What starts as behaviour that challenges at school, risks turning in to more complex challenges, such as involvement with adults for criminal purposes.
Youth work is designed to support vulnerable young people to develop pro-social behaviours, and engage positively in society. Essentially, youth work is the glue between most young people and society. The Project PT Social Impact Team work alongside youth workers to deliver projects which encourage the development of new skills and enabling a young person to feel they can reengage in society. In a sentence, this sounds easy right? The work our team do is challenging and extremely rewarding. So, you’re probably wondering, how do they do it? We’ll share our key philosophies with you so you can make the changes too!
Always treat a young person with kindness.
It is likely that young people who present with behaviour that challenges are have had numerous people in their life communicate to them negatively, “as a kid” or disrespectfully. You need to be the person to change that. Treating a young person with kindness not only encourages trust, but fosters a sense of importance for that young person.
All behaviour is communication.
Building on the above, it is likely that young people will use actions to show how they feel, instead of verbal communication. The main reason being because they do not know how to communicate effectively exactly how they are feeling. It is your job to help them understand their actions, why it happened, and what they felt at that time. This empowers the individual to begin recognising their feelings, as well as develop communication skills.
Give young people autonomy.
Yes, you heard it right. You don’t need to dictate what they do or who they talk to. Giving a young person choice will encourage creative thinking, decision making, and feelings of freedom. Choice over what they do, how the session runs and when they take breaks are all ways in which a young person can have control.
A space to rest and feel heard.
We often hear from young people that their main want from professionals is to be understood. Sometimes, the most valuable thing you can do for a young person is to allow them to sit and talk about their life, what’s going on for them and how they’re coping. As you are probably aware, young people won’t always come out with this information straight away. Allow them time to rest and let them know you are there to talk when they’re ready.
Using the above, and other youth work practices, we can bridge the gap between disengagement and engagement for our young people!
