12 November 2009. A new scheme giving social work students first-hand experience with vulnerable young people will help bridge the gap between social care professionals and those who most need their support.
The Prince’s Trust, in partnership with the Zurich Community Trust, is introducing placements for social work students on the charity’s flagship 12-week personal development course, Team. The support workers will help improve the emotional wellbeing of young people on Team, which is for unemployed and disadvantaged 16-to-25-year-olds.
The announcement follows a recent Government campaign to recruit more than 5,000 new social work professionals. The new scheme aims to change young people’s perceptions of social workers.
Director of Policy and Innovation at The Prince’s Trust, Ginny Lunn comments: “The young people we support often have difficult backgrounds or suffer symptoms of long-term unemployment - from depression and anxiety to a debilitating lack of confidence.
“Not only will young people receive more intensive emotional support on Team - the partnership will also bridge the gap between the hardest-to-reach young people and a new generation of social workers.”
The scheme, funded by a £303,000 partnership between The Prince’s Trust and the Zurich Community Trust, is being rolled out following a successful pilot in the North West.
Katey, 21, from Blackpool, was one of those helped by the social work student placement:
"My support worker was a big help when I struggled with my stress levels. She helped me with my eating – because I don’t do eating in front of people. She also put me in touch with people I needed to speak to. She helped me tell my Team Leader things he needed to know – because I’m not very good at speaking to blokes. She was just a really good general support to have. I would still have enjoyed the course without her, but it would have been a lot more difficult with all the issues I had to sort out along the way."
The Prince’s Trust and the Zurich Community Trust aim to have support workers placed on Teams across the country in the next three years, helping approximately 5,000 young people.
According to the World Health Organisation, one in five young people under the age of 18 will suffer from a mental disorder, with one in three from the most disadvantaged backgrounds suffering from issues such as depression, anxiety, stress and trauma.
Pam Webb, Head of the Zurich Community Trust comments: "We know that the emotional wellbeing of a young person at age 16 is a strong predictor of their mental health and life chances later in life. We believe that one-to-one support at this crucial stage can save young lives.
“By funding the introduction of student social workers to The Prince’s Trust Team programme we will be creating a lasting legacy through enhancing the skills of the next generation of social workers to better understand and deal with young people's mental health issues."
Ginny Lunn adds: “Social workers often end up in the media spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Schemes such as this will help build trust and remind people of the crucial support social workers offer.”
