Youth workers are mentors who endeavour to create as much consistency as possible in the lives of young people so they can turn to them in their times of need. In residential care, particularly, they provide a home-like environment for young people who aren’t able to live with their families for many different reasons. As trained professionals, they also support young people experiencing a range of behavioural challenges and trauma.
Sandy’s role
Sandy has been a youth worker with Anglicare Southern Queensland since 2019. When explaining her role, she explained “In residential care, you become like the parent. You’re the one that might take them to appointments, you’re the one that organises that appointment, you’re the one that does the cooking.”
Sandy explains that “a youth worker can be a lot of things, but… especially in therapeutic care, they need to be able to connect with the kids, to help them deal with life, deal with their emotions.”
During her years of working with young people, Sandy explained that some of the common forms of trauma that they experience include different forms of abuse, neglect and/ or homelessness. While understanding that each child is different (including their trauma), she emphasises the importance of working with each young person to identify a coping mechanism that works for them.
Residential care is an important aspect of Anglicare’s broader out of home care services. Frontline youth workers, like Sandy, are imperative to providing care and support to young people within our residential care homes. Each day, they show up for young people and as Sandy explains, “They [young people] need someone who can connect to get them to that next step.”
“I think a youth worker is a person who keeps the kids in line until they can do it themselves,” explained Sandy.
The role of a youth worker
Watch this video to hear more about Sandy and learn more about the role of a youth worker.