Navigating Change: Changing Direction

This case study explores the mentoring intervention provided to YP7, a 14-year-old referred by a Targeted Youth Support (TYS) service due to concerns about gang affiliation and school disengagement.

YP7 is a 14-year-old male that was referred for mentoring by TYS. There were concerns about his association with peers and older individuals linked to gang activity, raising fears that he was being groomed. He had also been physically attacked twice in the community, heightening risks to his safety.

Furthermore, concerns were raised about his low school attendance, which was linked to sleep difficulties, for which he was medicated, as well as his lack of involvement in extracurricular activities.

At the start...

YP7 lived at home with his mother who worked full-time. His grandmother was also an influential figure in his life.

There was a smooth start to the intervention. YP7 demonstrated an openness to engage in conversation and was able to articulate his thoughts and opinions clearly and effectively, fostering a productive dialogue with his mentor.

 The objectives of the mentoring intervention focused primarily on guiding YP7 away from peers involved in gang-related activities, while simultaneously raising his awareness of the potential long-term consequences of poor decision making.

 In addition, the programme aimed to improve YP7’s school attendance, ensuring that he remained engaged in education, and encourage active participation in positive activities that would offer constructive alternatives to negative influences.

Another key goal for the mentor was to equip YP7 with practical strategies to maintain personal safety within the community and to manage situations where he might encounter feelings of vulnerability or danger, thereby promoting a sense of confidence and self-reliance in challenging environments.

Work completed: Achievements & Challenges

 YP7 had an interest in motorbikes, and this became a pivotal focus for the mentor, who responded by enrolling him in the Avalon Bike Project, a programme that provided YP7 with the opportunity to learn practical motorbike maintenance and repair skills.

Throughout the mentoring sessions, the mentor escorted YP7 to and from the bike project, using the travel time to discuss his well-being, friendships, and school attendance.

Goals were set to engage in positive activities, and while YP7 missed a few sessions due to illness, he generally remained committed to the bike project. YP7 was unable to attend the final mentoring session due to a lack of communication from his mother and grandmother, with whom the mentor usually arranged sessions. Notwithstanding this, his overall engagement reflected positive progress, despite the absence of consistent encouragement or boundaries at home.

There was little improvement in YP7’s school attendance, despite support from both the mentor and the school, which held meetings with professionals and the family to address the issue. Towards the end of the academic year, guided by the views of YP7’s grandmother, his mother decided to transfer him to an alternative provision, although the option to re-sit Year 10 was available to him.

YP7 demonstrated that he had taken the mentor’s advice by cutting ties with gang-affiliated individuals, a change confirmed by his mother. He successfully engaged in the bike project without any incident or physical altercations with other young people, showing his progress and the benefits of the mentoring sessions.

Regular updates were sent by the mentor to the lead worker at TYS, who remained supportive of the mentoring programme and what it sought to achieve.

Areas of Strengths and Development:

Overall, YP7 demonstrated commitment to mentoring attending many of the sessions scheduled.

YP7 took time to reflect on positive and negative influences in his life, recognising and acknowledging the steps he had taken to distance himself from gang-affiliated individuals, while consciously choosing to spend more time with a new group of friends who offered a more positive and constructive influence.

 YP7 thoroughly enjoyed this hands-on bike experience and showed great enthusiasm when attending the project. To ensure YP7's continued progress and provide further support, the mentor highlighted the benefits of involving a family support worker who could play a key role in sustaining YP7's positive changes by assisting his mother with boundary-setting and engagement with services, strengthening the family’s ability to support the YP7’s development.