Supporting vulnerable young people aged 16-25 through detached youth work
The detached youth work team provides outstanding support to vulnerable young people aged 16-25, often working constructively with the young person’s family too. The team works very effectively with other local authority services and external statutory and voluntary agencies to support young people with a wide range of complex issues such as physical and mental health, substance misuse, neurodivergence, financial matters, relationships, self-confidence, education, training and employment, anti-social behaviour and offender rehabilitation. The team works seamlessly with the Youth Intervention Service to manage the transition of services around age 16, and equally works well with young people aged 25 to hand over support to an appropriate adult service. Youth workers continue to make themselves available to a young person once an intervention is complete and will often agree to check-in with the young person at agreed intervals. This supports the sustainability of interventions and enables youth workers to identify issues that re-emerge and provide timely support.The case that follows is typical of the work that the detached youth work team is involved in. The name of the young person has been changed. The team has supported Ollie over the last three years. Initially he was referred to the team as he was homeless and not in education, employment or training. Youth workers helped Ollie to secure a permanent tenancy and pay his own bills. They advocated for him through a court hearing. Ollie had a history of self-harm and suicide threats, and youth workers supported him with his neurodivergent and mental health conditions alongside the community mental health team. They supported him to access substance misuse support from a voluntary agency. They supported him on his journey to transition from female to male. The trusting relationships that youth workers built with Ollie, and the high quality, sensitive support that the youth workers provided, were critical to him coping with the complex challenges he faced, engaging with other support services and moving from a chaotic to more stable lifestyle.