By Natalie
•
01 Sep, 2021
Tell us a bit about yourself I’m a Residential Youth Worker with Edmen in the Central Coast. I started working with Edmen at the beginning of the year and I support young people in out of home care. I’m also currently studying a Bachelor of Social Work. What do you want to do after finishing university? I’m currently studying social work which aligns well with Youth Work. I want to go into child protection after uni so having this background and experience in the Youth sector is helpful. I’ve gained a wide variety experience working in the residential houses. What type of settings do you work in? I work at three main types of houses that provide different levels of support. There’s a house that runs a 13 week program for young people so that’s shorter term care. I also work in houses that provide 1 to 1 support and group homes. What does a typical day at work look like? A typical day would involve a morning activity after the young people wake up, this could involve cooking or cleaning. Our role is to help them develop their skills so once they grow up, they can look after themselves in the adult world. During the day we do all sorts of things, we go to the beach, we go to the park, we go shopping. How old are the young people you support? They are anywhere between 8 to 16 or 17. What do you like most about working with Edmen? The thing I like most about working with Edmen is the flexibility. They [Edmen] have a lot of contracts with out of home providers so there are a lot of places for us to work. I’m a university student so it’s hard to find a job to fit in with my schedule but Edmen works well because I can go and do what I need to do while also making a decent living. Do you have any advice for people wanting to get into Youth Work? If you want to get into Youth Work, firstly you must have a passion for supporting children and young people in their transitional years. It does take a lot of patience and you have to be passionate about it. I think it’s also worth noting that you need good communication skills and de-escalation skills, as well as self-confidence. You’ve got to know yourself - you can’t go into this job insecure. Do you have any highlights or moments that have stuck with you as a Youth Worker? There was one instance where a young person I support was having a bad day and there’s this TikTok game called ‘Randonautica’ which gives you a random location to go out and explore. This young person suggested we go out and play this game so we did and her mood completely changed. Once we got home, all she could talk about was how much fun we had on our scavenger hunt. It’s these little things like this that you think are insignificant which stay with these young people. Our job is to make this time of their lives as positive as possible. Have the young people taught you anything? Yes, they’ve taught me so much. I always joke that I know what all the kids are into now days. But on a personal level, I’ve learnt so much about myself and really developed my communication skills. What’s next for you? I should graduate in June next year so I hope to use my experience gained at Edmen to work at Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ).