• Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

North East Connected

Hopping Across The North East From Hub To Hub

Do you have what it takes to change a young person’s life?

north yorkshire county councilOpen the door to a new opportunity and open the door for a young person – that’s the invitation coming from North Yorkshire County Council to anyone who thinks they may have the qualities needed to give young people the stability, skills and support to manage their transition to adulthood successfully.

The County Council is looking for people with a spare bedroom and a desire to share their home and family life with a young person in care to become a supported lodgings host. Supported lodging hosts have key paid roles within the County Council’s innovative No Wrong Door (NWD) programme.

NWD has been created to break the traditional cycle of young people who enter the care system in their teenage years following a path of multiple placements, insufficiently planned periods in residential care and placement breakdown.  Such a cycle runs the risk of young people becoming increasingly vulnerable and developing offending behaviour; substance misuse; disengagement from education; high risk-taking behaviour and frequently going missing.

NWD is centred on two hubs in the county; one which serves the east, based in Scarborough; one serving  the west, based  in Harrogate.  These hubs are designed to replace all traditional council-run children’s homes in North Yorkshire with a range of integrated provision.

Every young person in the NWD programme is given one key worker supported by a single team of trusted and skilled workers who stick with the young person through thick and thin to access the right services at the right time and in the right place to meet their need.

Each hub has a dedicated team which includes a life coach who is a clinical psychologist; a speech therapist; two community foster families who work out of the hub and are part of the professional team and community supported lodging places for 16 and 17-year-olds, again staffed by people who are specially trained and part of the professional team.

The County Council is asking anyone who thinks they might have what it takes to become a supported lodgings host in either the Harrogate or Scarborough area to get in touch. “We want to support young people in their families and communities wherever we can, and when this is not possible we want to give them the opportunity of life within a caring family environment,” said County Councillor Janet Sanderson, North Yorkshire’s Executive Member for Children’s Services.

“Being a supported lodgings host is a challenging but very rewarding job, and in return the County Council provides full training and round-the-clock support as well as generous payment, including a generous financial allowance of £280.23 a week, equivalent to an annual salary of £14,572 and the additional opportunity to work in one of our children’s homes, paid at £10.27 per hour; You’ll also find it incredibly rewarding work which can fit around other home and work commitments.

“If you enjoy making a difference to the lives of young people, then becoming one of our hosts is a great way to earn an additional income. It’s not as hands-on as fostering, so suits people who may be working full or part-time. As a host you are not offering a permanent home, but a stepping stone – somewhere for a young person to stay until they’re ready to live on their own.”

If you think that working in the No Wrong Door team and making a real difference to a young person’s life might be for you, please contact Janice Nicholson, Residential and  Edge of Care Service Manager, on 01609 535695 for an informal chat or contact the NWD team by email at nowrongdoor@northyorks.gov.uk.

By admin