We are consistently told by young people across Essex they want safe activities to participate in and safe places to meet, alongside adults they can talk to and trust.
For the past 18 months we’ve worked with Essex Council of Voluntary Youth Services (ECVYS) and Active Essex to fund detached youth workers in areas of need in Essex, Southend and Thurrock.
The youth workers provide detached youth work and safe activities for vulnerable young people aged 10 -14 yrs old, who are at risk of youth violence and gang activity because of their situation, locality or place they choose to gather. We have evaluated the project and the findings are incredibly positive.
The increased activity and support provided by the detached youth workers are helping young people make better life choices and increase their physical activity. The adults provide a level of ‘risk in the community’ safeguarding and are seen as positive role models.
The project saw:
- 4934 different young people engaged through detached youth work
- 8321 contacts between young people and detached youth workers (3387 of these were repeat contacts throughout the year)
- 1850 hours of youth work delivered by two members of staff in each district, over 637 sessions across seven districts
- a cost of just 48p per week per contact to run
After 18 months of delivery, our local partners who delivered the work (Essex Boys and Girls Club, Bar’n’bus, Red Balloon Foundation, Essex YMCA and Homestart, Southend YMCA, Teen Talk, Essex Youth Service and North Avenue Youth Centre) are a trusted presence in parks, high streets and communities.
The youth workers offer support and advice through conversation with the young people they meet. All the local partners have also engaged with community groups, district councils, sports groups and the Police, showing a real community effort to support vulnerable young people in their local areas.
In many of the case studies from partners, we can see there is clear value using local organisations already based in these communities to deliver this work. Organisations were able to link up their usual work in schools, community centres and youth buildings with their detached work in order to strengthen their presence as a trusted adult and organisation in the local area.
