On facebook, Caroline answered the question “What exactly does a youth worker do?” and described her ambitions for youth work in the future:
"This week we have been celebrating Youth Work Week. Having been a youth worker for over 20 years now I have been asked many times 'what exactly does a youth worker do?'
- Youth workers sometimes run sessions in youth centres - these can include arts, cooking, pool, sports, games and other activities.
- However sometimes we work from cafes, parks, on the beach, bus stops, mini buses and schools
- We work with groups of young people, individuals giving 1-1 support and we support their families
- We organise trips and residentials
- We laugh, worry, talk, stay silent, cry.
- We empower young people and encourage them to think about the choices they have and make in their lives
- We challenge behaviour sometimes
It's one of the best jobs ever and I love it when I meet adults who used to come to youth club years ago and talk about how they were helped or share a funny memory.
My Ambition for Youth Work is that it gets reliable funding in the future, that it evolves with the needs of young people, that it continues to attract amazing youth workers and that it is recognised as an essential service #YWW2020"
Focusing on this year’s theme of “Ambitious” Evie described on facebook how she found a career in Youth Work:
"It's National Youth Work Week! This years theme is ‘Ambitious’ so us Youth Workers at TDC are going to share some of our Youth Work stories online with you guys.
At 18, I had a career change from working as a nanny and play worker. I started volunteering with a charity called The CALMzone at events speaking to young people about the importance of mental health awareness. I realised how much i enjoyed working with teenagers and decided this is what i wanted to do. I booked onto an introduction to Youth Work course and started volunteering at a Youth Centre in Bournemouth. I loved what I was doing and decided that I wanted to take the step to study Youth Work at the University of Brighton in 2018. I was introduced to Adam (now my boss) the director of Youth Work at TDC who gave me the opportunity to volunteer with the charity. Two years down the line I now work for TDC as a Youth Worker whilst studying my Youth Work Degree part time. I absolutely love what I do and I am so glad that I made the decision to follow my dreams. I am so grateful to TDC for giving me an opportunity to achieve my ambitions. We as a Youth Team are here to support you to discover your dreams and goals and help you along the way. Lockdown has just begun for the second time, please do reach out to any of our team for support or perhaps just a chat. - Evie Youth Worker #YYW2020 #YouthWorkWeek #Ambitious"
