Champions is an innovative intervention programme supporting young people, aged 10-25 with experience of, or at risk of offending behaviours.
The programme is delivered by 9 football club community organisations across Lancashire and offers mentoring support, signposting and facilitates access to services and activities in the community.
We spoke with some of the Champions mentors about how they engage with young people and what drives them to make the programme a success.
What is your first encounter with a young person like?
Scott: Normally quite relaxed, I try to make the young person feel as comfortable as possible. Sometimes the first meet can end up just being a chat, sort of an introduction to each other and what the programme might look like moving forward.
Ria: Exciting! I’m always keen to find out more about the young person to find out how we can support them.
Ellie: I’m always conscious about overwhelming any new clients I have, so I arrange a neutral meeting either in the community or at the home address where the young person will feel more comfortable.
What is your philosophy/ approach to engaging with a young person?
Tara: Everyone makes mistakes in their life and yes, some are greater than others, but a helping hand and support in the right direction goes along way. It’s about being there and being present.
Ria: Providing an open and honest space for them to communicate, ensuring that they feel listened to at all times. Quite often, they won’t have had the opportunity to be heard before so sometimes this can be life changing in itself.
Vicky: There isn’t a one size fits all approach. Each individual is different and unique in their own ways so it’s important to be adaptable.
Jamie: I’m a big advocate of doing sessions that contain an activity, such as boxing, gym, football, fishing and even meeting up for a coffee and going for a walk. I feel like my clients open up more while doing activities rather than sitting at a desk and speaking.
Kathryn: I let them decide how they want to be mentored with clear goal setting. With that being said, the main aim is to take a holistic approach and to reach out to other agencies for help.
What motivates you to work with young people in this way?
Ben: I want to be the adult that truly impacts that young person’s life in such a positive way that it lasts a lifetime. The fact is many young people are neglected or written off and for me that drives me to make sure none of the young people I work with ever feel this way.
Ria: Everyone deserves a second chance, and it’s in times like these that second chances can make or break a person.
I would love the chance to meet someone I’ve worked with in five years’ time and for them to tell me that they’ve achieved something they never dreamed of, and for that to have been made possible because of an intervention they received whilst engaging with the programme.
Scott: Seeing the difference we can make in the young people through providing a positive role model who gives them advice and something to look forward each week is extremely rewarding.
What does an average week look like?
Tara: There’s no such thing as an average week, but usually there are days spent in custody, catching up with clients and attending vital training sessions.
Ben: I don’t feel there is such thing as an average week in this role, one week you could have a range of steady sessions and admin time to go with it, then the next there could be a hurdle that pops up and causes our young people to stumble. We strive to step in and be there through the good and the difficult times and we will never give up on our young people
What are some of the good things about being a mentor?
Ria: Seeing the young people have opportunities they’ve never had before, as well as watching them grow individually.
Vicky: Working with young people means there is never a dull moment. There are interesting conversations to be had with young people and listening to their views and opinions on different matters helps to give me a more openminded approach.
Kathryn: We get to see young people achieve goals, meet their targets and flourish. It’s great to see how a young person goes from being misperceived, to being driven and guided by our help.
What are some of the challenges you face in this work?
Tara: Punctuality, but not in the sense clients don’t want to attend sessions, sometimes they aren’t ready for the next step and that’s okay.
Ellie: I think the main challenge for this work is parental support or buy in for the programme. I am happy to support a young person with any and all issues, but if we lack the support and encouragement from the parents, we have a harder fight for change on our hands.
Ben: The very nature of the job is challenging, sometimes its hard not to get demoralised when a young person struggles and ultimately makes a bad choice, but these struggles push us to work harder and ensure we do what we can to avoid this in the future.
Jamie: I wouldn’t say there is challenges, just moments that make you learn and become more experienced as a mentor.
Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Preston North End Community and Education Trust [PNECET]’s DIVERT programme, a custody intervention for young people, has had a transformational effect on one client by helping him to find new employment and a revitalised outlook on life.
The DIVERT programme is delivered in police custody suites across the country, reaching young people to provide them with training, education and employment opportunities through a professional football club.
It was through Preston North End – one of seven clubs in the county that has delivered the programme in Lancashire since March 2020, each employing a Custody Intervention Coach [CIC] – that Max FIRST engaged on DIVERT last year when he met PNECET CIC Ria Barker.
Each club’s CIC is based in a police custody suite across Lancashire and approaches young people with the offer of support in a number of areas, in a confidential, free-of-judgement manner – an offer which remains open once an individual has left custody.
DIVERT aims to reduce the risk of reoffending among young people upon their release from police custody.
Max first engaged on the programme while in custody last year. His mental health had been negatively impacted in previous years, stemming from a misdiagnosis of a serious neck injury and discontent under previous employment, among other issues.
After his release, Max re-engaged with DIVERT, which led to regular contact with Ria, whether in-person or otherwise. Together, Max and Ria agreed to focus on him having more stability. Ria helped Max to improve his CV, discuss interview techniques and highlight the importance of a healthy and balanced lifestyle to provide him with a focus and purpose.
Reflecting on his situation and first meeting with PNECET, and how his life has progressed since, Max said: “Coming out of lockdown, I found myself in a bit of a mess with situations and scenarios in my life. I ended up getting into trouble a lot and was in and out of police stations.”
“One morning, I had a knock on the cell and it was the DIVERT team and I went out and spoke to Ria. Ever since, my life has been helped to be brought back on track, going for interviews and applying for jobs, and I’ve finally got a job. I’ve been successful in that job and have been promoted rather quickly.”
“Having that outside opinion and outside source of support and communication around me has just helped massively.”
On how his mental health had been impacted by past events, Max added: “Mentally I was shot, which I think is why I was going in and out of police stations and things like that.”
“I did have a job but lost it and I didn’t know where I was going, I didn’t think I was going to get anywhere near what I was doing. Ria helped me with my CV, tweaked it and I sent it off.”
“I’d heard nothing from it and then all of a sudden, I was with Ria having a coffee and my phone rang and it was the company I’m working for now [to offer him a job]. It’s spiralled from there and it’s been brilliant.”
Prior to meeting Ria, Max had felt going into police custody would continue to be a familiar path for him, but he has been grateful for the impact that DIVERT has had on his life.
“Ria’s always been there supporting me, asking if I needed anything, helping me with anything I wanted really.”
“I can phone and just have a rant if I’m feeling bad, or if I’m really struggling with something, I know I can text or ring her and just be able to open up, be honest and share with her in a safe place without having to struggle to feel you’re going to be judged.”
PNECET’s DIVERT programme has led to positive outcomes for 16 clients in the last year, while 83% of those who have been referred through custody have engaged on the programme.
The DIVERT programme now also has a youth strand, engaging with 10 to 16-year-olds to prevent them from entering the criminal justice system.
For more information about our DIVERT provision, please email ria@pne.com.
Over the last few months Kenzie a young person on our Divert Youth Programme and has made great progress in his social, mental and physical wellbeing. The programme supports local youngsters aged 10-17 who either live in or are educated in Lancashire and are known to offend or be at risk of offending behaviours in the future.
Kenzie has wanted to make a positive change to himself and his community. He has been taking part in all activities that Divert has put on for him. He has taken a great interest in Fit 2 Fight kickboxing where he attends twice a week and trains to a high standard.
One of the biggest achievements Kenzie has accomplished is raising money for his Uncle Mick who is going to Mexico to Halt the progressive MS. He did this by creating a sponsor form and raised £830 by walking up Pendle Hill with the rest of his peers and dad.
Kenzie’s dad has said, “I would like to say thank you to Kathryn and the team at Divert for their amazing work with the young ones. It’s great to see the kids enjoying themselves and it’s down to people like Kathryn that spend quality time supporting and helping. I am so grateful for all your support with Kenzie.”
“It’s been great to see how Kenzie has developed over the last few months from meeting him first at school to where he is now. He has given everything he does a 100% and is a great role model to his peers.”