Children North East has set up a new model of working in two areas of the region, Sedgefield District in Co Durham and Tynedale in Northumberland. The project, Youth Link, recruits, trains and maintains a pool of young people aged 16-25. The young volunteers work alongside adult volunteers to support families where there is a family crisis centered around the handling of adolescent issues. The young volunteers work with the young person/people in the family while the adult volunteer works with the parents. Joint activity takes place depending on the needs of each family at their own pace. Young people are also signposted to other activities/organisations as appropriate.

Young volunteers are recruited to help steer the project and to advise on the suitability of ways of working with young people in families.

Positive outcomes that will impact positively on young people, their families and the community include:

• Increased engagement with ‘hard to reach’ families
• Improved emotional wellbeing
• Young people and families enjoy spending more time together
• Young people and their families engaged in more local services
• Improved parenting roles
• Increased volunteering opportunities

The project’s main outcomes complement and support those outlined in Youth Matters and the Government’s 10 year youth strategy by supporting young volunteers to work alongside experienced adult volunteers and enabling one to one support for marginalised young people.

The Youth Link Service

• Embraces youth involvement
• Delivers High Quality Volunteering Opportunities
• Embeds Equality and Diversity
• Inspires Creativity & Innovation
• Supports Skills Development
• Encourages Partnership Working
• Maximises Community Impact

The project supports young people through difficult times in their lives and helps them to become more engaged. The project is welcomed by families of young people who are struggling with adolescence to “weather the storm” and to learn new skills to ensure that their families survive the difficult times. As a result of these two family-level outcomes, the wider community benefits from more settled families and young people who are more ready to take a positive approach to their lives.

The Youth Link Projects in Sedgefield and Tynedale are a pilot of this work so that we can develop the model and use it, subject to funding, in other areas of the North East.

If you would like further details about the Youth Link Projects in Sedgefield or Tynedale please contact Mandy Taylor at Children North East on 0191 256 2444, mandy.taylor@children-ne.org

Sedgefield Youth Link is supported by: