I visit young people in custody to see if they have any worries about returning home and I stay in contact with their families.
Why is your role important? It's about getting young people and their parents or families to start talking to each other again. The work that we do gives them a place to talk and involves a third person, helping them to communicate better. It's often the first time they've had somebody who sits with them and gives them that opportunity.
How did you get into this role? I've worked as a social worker for a youth offending team. I've also worked with Victim Support with young victims of crime and done lots of work with restorative justice. I've also trained as a mediator and done some family and neighbourhood mediation. Then this job came up, which included a lot of stuff I enjoyed.
What's the biggest challenge? One of the biggest challenges about this role is that the project lasts for just two years, so the work really does need to be picked up by mainstream organisations. Another frustration is that sometimes you will see young people or families who you think really do need some kind of help, but they say they're not ready or they think they don't need it. That's really frustrating, because I think I could help, but I can't because it's a voluntary service.
What will you do when the Reset programme finishes next June? Hopefully, I'll be able to continue with something along similar lines. It would be great if one of the youth offending teams decided to carry on the work.
