We caught up with three of our youth practitioners about the different ways they engage with young people in the UK…
The power of painting
Chloe, Youth Practitioner, Glasgow
Tiana, aged 16, was found by British Transport Police on the tracks, intending to end her life.
“At our first meet-up, Tiana wasn’t communicating with me,” says Chloe, one of our youth practitioners in Glasgow. “It was clear she was struggling to cope with her feelings or even understand them. But I knew Tiana enjoyed art, and so I came up with a plan.
“At our next session, I took along paper, paints and paintbrushes and we identified different symbols and colour that we could use to represent complex feelings and emotions. Tiana and I then started painting.
Giving Tiana the chance to express herself creatively was a great tool for communication. It helped inform Chloe’s support and helped Tiana gain insight on how she was feeling.
Using her art as the catalyst, it became much easier for Tiana to talk about what she was finding difficult in her life and what she wanted to change.
Journalling the future
Amelia, Youth Practitioner, West Yorkshire
As 16-year-old Erin spent time thinking about the year ahead, she knew she wanted to make changes.
“I spent some time talking with Erin about goal setting and then she went off and wrote down the changes she knew she wanted to make in her life,” explains Amelia.
“Having these goals written down makes them more concrete, and means Erin can go back to them, and remember why she made them.”
Erin and Amelia come back to her journalling in their sessions and reflect on what she’s written.
Together, they revisit the goals she’s set and think through what positive changes she can make to turn these goals into reality.
“It’s great to see Erin’s belief in herself coming through in her journalling after a difficult year in 2024. Now it’s about building on that and supporting her to achieve her goals.”
“Being interested in the story really helped draw Charlie in and think about the issues.
Charlie understands more about grooming now, and how vulnerable young people like him can be.
Using the video really helped engage him in conversation and got him thinking in a way that me just speaking to him might not have done.”
Phil, Youth Practitioner, London
Sharing a story
Sometimes, using videos and other media can help our youth practitioners connect with a young person.
Charlie was referred to Railway Children, aged 15, due to concerns around exploitation by county lines gangs. So he and London Youth Practitioner Phil watched a video together that tells the story of a young boy who is groomed by a gang.
When they got to an important part, they’d pause and Phil would ask Charlie discussion questions: “What did you notice there?” “What do you think about this?”.
All names have been changed and models used to protect identities.
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