Development
As a teenager, Clare was working towards being an English Teacher, but that changed when she spent her gap year working at a residential centre.
“I went there as a young person and remember thinking ‘these people that run the centre are really cool!’. I realised very quickly that, while teachers are amazing, what I really cared about was what made young people tick, what makes them happy, excited nervous. I’m a bit of a people watcher so getting to know the ins and outs of people really spoke to me.
After my gap year I had decided I didn’t really want to be a teacher, at the time the NYA had a list of all the accredited youth work university courses in the country and I ended up applying for one in the University of Hull and that’s where I completed my degree.
For Clare, youth work is the missing tool that stands separately to formal education and unlocks young people’s ability to explore the things that really excite or motivate them.
“I know sometimes young people will say ‘my youth worker got me through this’ but actually what’s happened is that we’ve helped the young people to develop the tools to overcome that thing themselves. We’re just kind of standing on the sidelines cheering them on!”
Health care
In the third year of her degree, Clare was invited to do a research piece at Hull Royal Infirmary. She went along and interviewed a lot of clinicians, medical professionals and most importantly, young people to find out how they’re coping, what is it they want from life.
“That’s what led me to look for a job in this sort of environment really, I met some young people who were going through some extremely tough times and I knew that if I was in that position I really wouldn’t have managed it very well. The idea of being there for those young people just really spoke to me.
Another one of the most important parts of youth work for me is advocating for young people, making sure their voices get heard. It’s difficult in a system as rigid as health care to find the space for young people to deviate from what is prescribed or considered the norm. Youth Work in that context means that there is someone there recognising the treatment plan for a young person, but asking what does that treatment plan mean for that young person, has anyone asked them? What does it mean for their education, for their relationships with their family members. It’s just important that someone is able to say to that young person ‘I’m not going to promise the world, but I know how you’re feeling and I’m going to make sure that the medical professionals know.’ And sometimes that’s the most important tool you have really.”
Mental Health
“We’re helping young people to practice and maintain good mental health as much as possible. We’re often there when a young person is at absolute crisis or are at a point where they’re really struggling with their mental health. That is quite typical of youth work, but adding on top of that chronic long-term health issues and it’s all amplified further. All you see in hospital is vulnerablility and uncertainty. This place is special because, while we’re not promising to fix the young people, we’re there as a helping hand just to be there and help them to validate their experience.”
Rewarding
“Someone told me when I was at university that you will always give more to a job than a job will give to you, but actually being a youth worker what I’ve found is that I’m willing to give more to the job because what I get back from the job is knowing that I’ve been a part of someone overcoming a huge life challenge. It’s never about you as a youth worker, it just feels rewarding to be able to say ‘I was able to see what that young people needed at that specific time, or what needed to be said to them or what needed to be put in place for them, just to unlock that last bit of potential for them to make a significant leap forward.’
Youth work is a joy to be a part of, no matter what gets in the way, spending time with people that they will treasure forever, is priceless.”
