I'm a Youth Worker AMA

[Yw42]

I'm a qualified Youth Worker predominantly working with young people in/leaving care, ask me anything!

What is the most difficult and rewarding aspect of your job?

Most difficult part of the job is probably when young people pass away. That's always incredibly sad.

The most rewarding part is seeing them start to believe in themselves and realise that they deserve good things in life!

What are the common issues you face?

Silly question I know but how realistic is Tracy beaker?

It's been a really long time since I watched/read Tracy Beaker so not sure how much of a comparison I can draw on that!

Common issues I face are mainly working hard to be consistent and build trust and then maintain that. Most of the young people I work with have been let down a lot by adults and professionals in their lives and had lots of changes in relationships so it's really important that I'm super consistent and reliable and prove myself (and advocate for them to get a fair service). Some young people will try to push my boundaries and I have to remind myself that it's a privilege to get to know them, and I'd do the exact same if I'd had the same experiences- its survival. Apart from that, probably domestic violence and trying to encourage young people to have healthy relationships, unhealthy relationships with substances or alcohol and maybe risky and unsafe behaviours, managing mental health and building better coping strategies. CSE and ensuring safeguarding is unfortunately another big part of my job and overall helping young people to manage trauma. I also work a lot with unaccompanied young people so integration with their peer group and into local communities would be a big part as well.