YP1’s Journey Towards Positive Change

This case study follows the journey of YP1, a 17-year-old referred to Wipers Youth by a Youth Offending Service (YOS) following offences of robbery and possession of an offensive weapon.

The YOS referred YP1 to Wipers Youth as a result of a 12-month referral order following offences of robbery and possession of an offensive weapon. The location of the 17-year-old's accommodation raised concerns about the possibility of gang affiliation. There were additional concerns around poor decision making which hindered educational performance, sporting ability and health issues as a result of substance misuse. It was perceived that continued bad decision-making could end with trouble with the authorities, which the referrers wanted to prevent. 

 The aims of the mentoring intervention were to address education and training and support YP1 with past events and to work together to assist with better decision-making, an improved sleeping pattern and encourage positive interaction with other young people. 

The mentoring programme also aimed to address YP1's engagement with sporting activity, namely boxing, which had been disrupted due to previous bad choices. YP1 was open to the idea of mentoring and was willing to engage with sessions regularly. For the first few meetings, however, YP1 arrived late for sessions and lacked attention towards the end of the meetings. Yet as the programme continued, YP1 became more engaged and used the sessions to enable him to make positive choices in how to further his sporting involvement and access services such as the local gym.

The mentor initially observed that YP1 wanted to use the mentoring programme as a means to assist him to gain part-time employment while re-integrating into education. He was also open to suggestions to address his poor sleeping pattern. The young person clearly stated that he wanted to overcome his previous poor decision making and started to become involved and engaged with local services. The mentor was impressed by YP1's enthusiasm to keep active and busy in a positive way. He was open to being put forward for jobs, enrolling onto courses or sessions at the local gym, applying for college and upskilling his CV. 

The mentor would regularly meet YP1 at the young person's home before engaging in sessions. YP1 engaged in meetings around decision making, personal organisation, reintegrating back into education, substance misuse and physical fitness. The mentor supported YP1 with applications for colleges and, as the sessions continued, further services were explored to enable YP1 to attend the local gym to improve his fitness levels.

The mentor supported the young person to complete applications for gym membership and then further work was undertaken towards employment, with the YP1 eventually gaining a job as a sales associate. The achievement of employment encouraged YP1 to work on maintaining a good sleep pattern. YP1 found it challenging to stick to his new routine schedule without the mentor encouraging him to go to the gym and keep his living space clean. YP1 helped out by cooking meals in the house, and, as part of his mentoring goals, committed to prepare regular meals for his family. However, he was not always available to complete the meals due to his sleeping pattern. 

YP1 was still regularly associating with other youths locally and so would still be out and arriving home late which exacerbated his poor sleeping pattern and was also a possible contributing factor to his late arrivals for work. The mentor observed as the intervention continued YP1 was more involved with his family and was more open to his parents reminding him about the work that needed to be undertaken. YP1 was expected to clean his room and cook for the family 3-4 times per week. The mentor regularly called the YP1 to ensure the schedules were being adhered to and YP1’s sleeping pattern was gradually improving and there were less concerns of late arrivals for work.

YP1 demonstrated his maturity to continue the multiple gym sessions and reduce the substance misuse which had impacted on his life goals previously and demonstrated a commitment to improving his own general health and lifestyle. He also demonstrated multiple strengths and qualities including determination, motivation, organisational skills, adaptability, and communication with others. The mentor identified that YP1 might benefit from ongoing support around punctuality at work and in education, as well assistance with his education progression to build his confidence in returning to study full-time.