Youth Mentoring
Remedi provide mentoring to young people (aged 10-17), an intervention that has shown to be highly effective when working with young people who are committing crime or at high risk of involvement.
Data from the Derbyshire Strategic Needs Assessment has identified a significant increase in the number of young people aged 10-14 involved in serious violence. The mentoring programme works closely with young people, social care and education partners to address exploitation, absences and exclusion and missing episodes, which are all key risk factors for involvement in serious violence.
Youth Mentoring Interview – Reyanne & Romaya
Case studies
Please note that the below case studies have been anonymised for the safety and privacy of those involved. In each case study the mentee is referred to as ‘the child’ but they are different individuals.
Case study one
Background: We received a referral from Derby City Youth Justice for a child with an offence of GBH, sentenced with a YRD, for throwing a plant pot at a staff members head. The child has other agencies involved such as a Youth Justice Social Worker and education support and is currently staying at a supported living children’s home In Derbyshire.
Issues/Problems: The child has met the mentor twice, she can display quite challenging behaviour towards staff members who work at Rosewood. The child seems to want to engage with the mentor and has always been respectful towards them and the discussions they’ve had. The child doesn’t often leave their room or engage with staff members at Rosewood. The mentor completed a needs assessment and have identified her needs as looking at some anger management and raising awareness of Hate Crime.
Actions taken: The child invited the mentor to sit in their room with them and they had a good chat. The child was very open to try writing how they’re feeling in their diary whenever they have maybe displayed challenging behaviour. With a little bit of encouragement, the child came out of their room to take some dirty pots and glasses downstairs to the kitchen, however when the staff noticed they were out of their room they all came into the kitchen to see them, so the child went straight back upstairs.
So next, the aim was to get them out of the house and go for a walk to see if the child would be more open for discussion without other staff members around. Considering the above and the identified needs of looking at some anger management and raining awareness of Hate Crime, the plan was to build up the child’s self-esteem and ability regulate her emotions by working on anger management exercises and techniques for managing emotions. The mentor be also delivered a Hate Crime awareness workshop with the child. Throughout this support the mentor worked closely with partner agencies involved with the child and kept the referrer updated following every session so they have sight of the plan that the child and the mentor are working towards.
Case study two
Background: This case study looks at the delivery of Remedi’s ‘tools down’ knife crime programme with a child who has been referred into the service after drugs and weapons offences by Derby City Youth Justice. The child has undertaken multiple interventions during the work undertaken so far but the tools down programme has been the most impactful.
Issues/Problems: Before starting the programme The child was adamant that they knew everything about knife crime and that it would be a waste of time going through the tools down programme.
Actions taken: Over the course of the sessions the child engaged in some really good discussions around the wider impacts of knife crime, especially for offenders’ families as well as the victim’s family and the wider community. During our last on this topic the child discussed a recent knife crime in their area and began to reflect on how that happening in their area affected the wider community.
Outcomes: Whilst reflecting on the above the Child thought about how their offences may have affected their mum and family and really started to understand how these incidents can affect a much wider range of people than they realized.
Whilst evaluating the programme the child stated that they felt their understanding of the impacts of knife crime had increased and quotes: “if I knew someone who was considering carrying a knife I would tell them what could happen and how it could affect them”
Case study three
Background: This case study looks at the case of a young person referred in to the service for displaying violent behaviour in school and towards staff at her care home. The Young Person was referred in by City YJS.
Issues/Problems: The young person had been displaying violent and aggressive behaviour specifically towards staff at their placement, and was also using racist language towards staff.
Actions taken: Our Mentor looked at addressing the aggressive behaviour by firstly giving the child an emotions diary in which they would write down how they were feeling when they started to notice her anger taking over. The young person and our mentor would then look through this diary in sessions and talk over each situation and look at coping strategies for managing emotions moving forward. In addition, the child also completed Remedi’s Hate Crime awareness workshop with the mentor in order to help the YP understand the impact of using racist language towards staff.
The Placement staff stated that they had noticed a significant change in the child’s behaviour since our mentor’s involvement. The young person fed back to the Mentor that: “I would have probably been arrested by now if it wasn’t for you”.
Outcomes: As a result of the interventions done by our mentor with this child, the aggressive and violent behaviour towards staff has decreased and the child has stopped using racist language all together when speaking with staff at their placement.