"It has been my privilege to work with Kevin": A young person's journey

Pete Smart, Sessional Worker, Southend, has been giving us an insight into the work he does with our young people.

For this post, I’d like to talk about the journey that the young people take whilst they are with St Christopher’s, rather than the actual activities we do. One young person I have worked with for 20 months is Kevin, aged 17.

Kevin has been in his foster placement for nearly two years after living in a residential home for years before that. It was a big change for him and a much quieter environment. His carer, Sarah, is a very calm person and this has enabled Kevin to relax and be able to call where he lives home. He also really likes the fact that Sarah’s friends all really like him and that they get on well.

We started by focussing on having positive relationships with others and with my support he now visits his family regularly. He has also built up enough confidence to travel by himself on the train to see his family.

Once Kevin's relationships were starting to improve, we focussed on managing his emotions. We worked through various strategies in how to be calm in difficult situations, such as recognising when he is feeling stressed and how to deal with it. This includes walking away, controlling his breathing, and relaxing himself so he doesn't react. He’s now able to express his feelings without worrying what others think and has the self-resilience to deal with life’s setbacks in a positive way.

Next we worked on having a positive view of education. I'm delighted to say that with support Kevin passed his exams in the summer. He gained a place at college where he is doing very well on a motor mechanics course, which he really enjoys.

With Kevin’s qualifications in place, we looked at gaining paid employment. Kevin needed a CV so we started by working together in order to identify the experiences and skills Kevin had. Kevin then managed to get a small job cleaning the offices at the St Christopher’s Chelmsford office. This gave Kevin the responsibility of paid work and meant we were able to add this to Kevin’s CV, which has helped a lot. Kevin also volunteered at a local bike shop for nearly a year, which gave him excellent experience of bike repairs and helping customers. We gave CVs to lots of prospective employers, as well as doing online applications. I'm delighted to say that our hard work paid off and after practising interview skills and pre-interview notes, Kevin got a paid, part-time job, which he is fully committed to. He really likes Fridays as it’s pay day!

Money management was next on our agenda, which should give Kevin the skills to live independently when his placement ends. We have worked on how to budget, working out how much food, bills and lodgings cost and how to get the best value for our hard-earned money.

Kevin's foster carer Sarah has been fully involved in all these activities and life skills work. In fact, we've worked together on most of the planning and I have supported the work Sarah has instigated as well.

In my time working with Kevin, I've seen him develop into a sociable and confident young man who has worked very hard for his success. It has not always been straightforward but he has made great progress and continues to do so. He has a great social circle around him and he has learned to accept himself and others without judging. He has responded really well to people who are positive role models in his life and gets a great deal of satisfaction when he helps others. He hopes to stay where he is beyond 18 as he’s really settled living with Sarah.

It has been my privilege to work with Kevin and see the man he is becoming.