Listen Up - Social Welfare Portal

listenup!Chapter 4 | 3103 The organisation should provide a professionalservice whilst at the same time puttingyoung people at ease by creating an informalambience. This can be done through use oflanguage, not having rigid timetables, casualdress, décor etc.04 Young people should be provided with a choiceof both the type of support they receive and thelevel of approach such as whether they wantadvice and a listening ear or require regularcounselling sessions. The pace and level of thework should be led by the young person.05 The organisation should be responsive to botha young person’s immediate and longer-termneeds. The organisation should provide a rangeof services that are focused on the recoveryprocess and staff should reassure young peoplethat support will be continued through therecovery process, not just in times of crisis.06 Young people should be prepared andsupported in moving on from the servicewhether this is into independent living orreferral/signposting to on to different services.07 The organisation should consider youngpeople’s basic practical needs, such as food,housing, personal finances, benefits etc. as partof a holistic approach. This may be throughoffering direct help with these, help with accessto other services or signposting young peopleto places where they can receive that help.08 The organisation should be socially inclusive,identifying the needs of all young people withinthe community and working to meet those needs.09 The organisation should have a clearly definedethos that all staff and young people are madeaware of either verbally or in writing. This ethosshould underpin the entire organisation’s workincluding that with outside agencies.10 The promotion of physical and mental healthand emotional wellbeing should be at the coreof the organisation’s work with young people.11 Decision making processes in the organisationshould be transparent. Where possible youngpeople should be involved in decision makingsuch as on the design and décor of the serviceand setting ‘rules and ‘boundaries’ for how theyand other young people use the service.12 All policies including confidentiality andcomplaints procedures should be well-definedand explained to young people who attend theservice.13 Staff in the organisation should form aneffective multidisciplinary team, having a rangeof different and appropriate skills and should betrained specifically to work with young people.14 Staff should be valued, invested in throughsupervision, training and development andencouraged to participate in the service’sdevelopment.15 The organisation should have a creative andqualitative means of gathering evidence,including listening to and consulting withyoung people, in order to help reflect on whatit is doing, to identify any gaps in service, and tolearn how to improve the service in the future.16 The organisation should seek actively toestablish and maintain working relationshipswith outside agencies in order to: improveknowledge and information sharing and; aimtowards the provision of seamless support foryoung people.