Listen Up - Social Welfare Portal

listenup!Chapter 2 | 17They were asked to describe not only how they usedthe service, but why, and what prevented themfrom disengaging from it. They were also asked tocompare the service they were using at the time toones they were no longer attending.We chose to rename this part of the project fromYouth Crisis II to ‘Listen Up’, removing the term ‘crisis’,following feedback from young people. Youngpeople may not be happy using the term ‘crisis’,as it can mean different things to different peopleand having a service based on ‘crisis’ could meanthat young people on a pathway to crisis could beexcluded from receiving support. The partner sitesechoed the views of young people in not wanting todefine young people or their services by the severityof the problems being experienced, but to see eachyoung person as individual, and work with themaccording to their needs. All the services thereforeworked not only with young people who might bedeemed as being in crisis or at risk of crisis e.g. whowere self-harming or had attempted to commitsuicide, but also with young people who had a rangeof other mental health, emotional or social problems.In addition, young people had made clear in YouthCrisis I that they wanted a greater emphasis onprevention. Listen Up showed that the organisationswere providing services which offered mental healthpromotion, prevention and, most frequently, earlyintervention – identifying problems in their earlystages and working with the young person to stopthis developing into a more major problem.The eight partner sites were chosen because theywere examples of positive practice (following anassessment by an expert panel) and because of theirinvolvement with young people and their willingnessto take responsive, creative and new approaches totheir work. They became part of a positive practicegroup (PPG) that met quarterly to share ideas,knowledge and examples of positive practice. Eachsite was provided with a small amount of fundingto help with the development of their service in linewith the key needs identified by young people in theYouth Crisis I. The eight partner sites were:• Sorted Not Screwed Up, Aberdeen Foyer, Aberdeen• Experience in Mind, Mind in Brighton and Hove,and Hove YMCA, Brighton and Hove• Community Links, Canning Town• Caterpillar Service, Barnardo’s Marlborough RoadPartnership, Cardiff• Support @ The Junction, The Junction, Colchester• The Market Place, Leeds• Streetwise, Newcastle• IceBreak, The Zone, Plymouth,Further details of each organisation are presented ascase studies in Appendix 2.AimsThis report looks at the work of eight voluntaryorganisations working with young people withmental health and emotional problems, to findout how these organisations work to ensure theirservices deliver what young people want, particularlyas identified on the ‘wish list’. The report also aimsto show, in a more general way, what the voluntarysector can offer.There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to providingservices for young people; much will depend onlocal need and funding. The eight partner sites werediverse in terms of their size, geographic locationsand organisational structures, but all were based inthe community – often placed within or offeringa generic service. Seven of the eight organisationsprovided services directly to young people needingsupport and information. The eighth, the Experiencein Mind project run by Mind in Brighton and Hove andHove YMCA, was set up to involve young people whohad used mental health services in the creation anddelivery of training to those who came in contact withyoung people with mental health problems such as