Listen Up - Social Welfare Portal

listenup!Case Study 7 | 111Referred young people’s details in January– March 2006The majority (63%) of the young people were agedbetween 16 and 21, with 28% being under 16 and9% aged between 22 and 25. 84% of those referredto Streetwise were female and 16% were male.Ethnicity data was not available for all young peoplein this time period. Of the 55 young people who didstate their ethnicity, 93% identified as White (British/European). One young person stated they were ofPakistani origin, one of Black African origin, and twoyoung people were of mixed ethnic origin.What the service offers• one-to-one counselling• counselling and group work in schools• drop-in service• information and advice• sexual health advice• self help library• social activities• smoking cessation clinic• drugs and alcohol awareness.Family/carer involvementAs a young person-centred organisation, Streetwisehas not traditionally involved parents and carers, asthe confidentiality of the service has been a majorfactor in young people deciding to access it. Atpresent, staff will talk to families where necessary orappropriate, although only with the permission ofthe young person.However, as the service has grown, so has theacknowledgement that working directly withfamilies can be useful for young people. The projectis now beginning to develop therapeutic workinvolving families.Current programme prioritiesi. AccreditationStreetwise aims to become accredited as acounselling training provider.ii. Integration with statutory servicesThe service is in the process of combiningpremises with the Young People’s ParticipationTeam, which will be brought under the Streetwiseumbrella, plus the integrated Young People’sDrug and Alcohol Service. This will provide youngpeople in the area with a single, integrated sitewhere they can access a range of services fromadvice and counselling to detoxification fromdrugs and alcohol. A new building needs to befound to enable this change.iii. Disabled accessA failing of Streetwise’s current location is the lackof disabled access; this will be a key priority inchoosing the new site.iv. Online counsellingAn online counselling service is planned tofurther expand accessibility.v. Training programme for parentsFunding has been sourced from CAMHS todevelop a training programme to equip parentswith the skills to support and help their children.vi. Group provisionThe service would like to create a stronger cultureof peer support through expanding the numberof support groups it offers; currently the majorityof its services are one-to-one.