YouthLink Helping Young People

Motivation behind the Lighthouse

Young people who have become involved with Youth Justice and who often have complicated and unsure family backgrounds commonly require a short term placement or respite facility.

Previously, those young people picked up by Police, due to offending or engagement in unsafe situations, would spend time in Police cells or in a Care & Protection or Youth Justice facility as a result of a lack of appropriate alternatives.

As a result of this clear shortfall in services for such young people, Child Youth & Family Services (CYFS) proposed the establishment of a reception facility. The result was an emergency short term respite facility called the ‘Lighthouse’.

Aim

The Lighthouse aims to address the lack of suitable options for youth who would otherwise spend time in Police cells.

The Service

With this goal in mind, the service offered by the Lighthouse exists in two dedicated and fully staffed houses, one for boys and one for girls. Each house acts as an emergency facility, providing a safe and supported environment for at risk young people.

Both homes have a maximum of 5 beds and, being short term stay facilities, provide these beds for a maximum of 5 days. The emphasis during this period is on engagement, settlement and placement of the young person and not on intensive intervention. As part of the Day Programme, Specialist Youth Workers provide and manage a range of activities for the young person, which are both interactive and creative.

Essential to the programmes success is the engagement of the Lighthouse with CYFS, the Police and Youth Justice Teams to achieve the most appropriate outcome for young people upon their exit from the programme.

Participants

Generally, young people admitted to the service will be aged 14 - 16 years, will be under CYF care and will have backgrounds that involve concerns ranging from abuse and neglect through to mental health concerns or alcohol and drug issues. Consequently, these young people will also have become identifiable to Police.