For youth workers, COVID-19 is just another challenge

It’s no surprise that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, youth workers have leapt into action to make sure that their vital work is still accessible to the young people they support. UNISON member Tony Rawlings is one of them. As a youth worker in Slough, he leads a team of five who focus on street work and young people likely to be involved in gangs. As he described it: “We tend to work with young people who others struggle to work with. We try to find out what’s going on with young people in the area and where the issues are – before the police get there. “We’ll work with young people to work on the issue before it gets to criminalising them.” During COVID-19, his team have worked relentlessly. When lockdown came in, they continued to go out and work on the streets. “We’ve been out day and night with no rest at all. It’s been emotionally draining for me and the team, but the team have been amazing. Tony himself caught the virus early on in lockdown and says that the team did really well just carrying on. Challenges as opportunities The challenges presented by the pandemic have turned into opportunities for trust-building for the team and the young people they work with. Tony said: “Some of the young people we work with are really difficult to work with. We’ve been supporting lots of families by dropping off food packages. Providing the food and being there when nobody else is has built a huge relationship with young people’s families. When everyone el...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: Article local government youth services Source Type: news