Listen Up - Social Welfare Portal

listenup!Chapter 10 | 73Making a differenceto young people’s livesYoung people attending all the services involved in the project reported theways that attending them had changed their lives in some way for the better.We did not have any negative responses, althoughwe recognise that the positivity of the responses mayhave been affected by the fact that all of these youngpeople were currently or had recently been engagedwith these services.Increased confidence, self esteemand self awarenessA growth in confidence and self esteem wasreported by almost all of the young peopleinterviewed.“To start with, I wanted to just hide, but I’m not aswithdrawn any more and am getting back to morelike my old self.”Young personYoung people from one service said they had gaineda sense of hope and a more positive outlook on thefuture. This, in turn, has improved their self esteemand their motivation to do something productivewith their lives. Young people accessing otherservices expressed similar feelings:“They show you a better way of life.”Young person“They make a care plan with you and help youvisualise what you want to achieve.”Young personYoung people reported that an increase inconfidence had improved their lives in a number ofways, such as: relationships; education and careerdevelopment; the number and variety of socialactivities; being able to access and engage in mentalhealth and youth services independently; and feelingable to talk to other people, including strangers.They also felt more able to express their feelings andneeds more clearly to professionals, friends, familyand partners.Improved relationshipsAn increase in confidence and self worth and animprovement in communication skills contributedto young people developing trusting relationshipswith both staff at the services and with their peers.The development of trusting ‘adult’ relationships, inturn, helped young people form positive relationshippatterns. Some spoke of developing greaterempathy, understanding and acceptance of othersand not judging on first impressions. They said thesechanges led to improved social lives and healthier,more open relationships with family and peers, withsome expressing how they were also more ableto develop successful working relationships withprofessionals from other services, as well as with theirteachers.“Now I’ve joined this group, I’ve seen what afriendship really is.”Young person“I wouldn’t be getting married if I hadn’t come here.”Young personDevelopment of coping strategies andlife skillsMany young people spoke of having learned,through the services, coping strategies to help themdeal more effectively with the challenges they facedin their lives. The majority of young people alsosuccessfully developed essential life skills, such ascooking, shopping, dealing with finances, generalproblem-solving skills, and generally how to care forthemselves independently.Some were taught coping strategies and life skillsin one-to-one sessions with their keyworker ortherapist. Others took part in group activities, andlearned from other young people’s experiences