Two new mentoring services will help young people stay safe and steer them away from the risk of youth violence. Provided by St Giles Midlands, the services are a Peer Mentor Navigator Service and a Transitions Caseworker; funded by The Warwickshire Local Authority Community Safety Partnership via the Serious Violence Duty Fund.
The pilot, Peer Navigator Service will work with two cohorts of young adults aged 17-25 who are currently in contact with the criminal justice system. The programme will provide academic support in an educational context alongside community coaching. This will include personal and social development, making sure emotional support is on hand to help the young person adjust to the training environment; a setting which may be new for the young person.
In addition, advice will be provided on managing stress, building relationships and navigating challenges, with a focus on addressing issues related to how they have come to be in contact with the criminal justice system in the first place. The aim, at the end of the 16 weeks, is to provide the young people with the tools and knowledge to make positive life choices and equip them with the confidence to develop into mentors within their own community.
The Transitions Caseworker will provide tailored, intensive, one-to-one mentoring with young people aged 18 years and under who have complex needs such as being at risk of, or are entrenched in gangs / youth related violence, involvement with the criminal justice system and exploitation and will sit within the Warwickshire Transitions Team. This will be delivered through a mix of client-focused mentoring, community outreach, intervention, education and a ‘whole-family approach.’
Warwickshire, like many regions across the country, faces significant challenges in tackling youth offending and related issues. St Giles are pleased to deliver these initiatives to support young people and help them build positive futures.
Both projects will be delivered by specialist St Giles staff, many of whom have lived experience of the issues faced by the young people they are supporting; and will work in conjunction with: Youth Offending Teams, Children’s Services, Probation, the wider Transitions Team, Police, NHS and the Education, Exploitation and Missing Teams, amongst others.