Subject - Youth Offending Service: Help make a difference

Posted : (Thursday 24th April 2008 ) By - Jane (Registered User)

The Youth Offending Service needs the following volunteers :

Panel Members
Youth Offender Panels were launched in April 2002 and are a ground-breaking way of dealing with first time young offenders. They provide an opportunity for young people to speak for themselves, and to take responsibility for their actions, as well as giving the community a say in creating effective programmes that ensure young people repair the harm they have done and are given positive help to prevent further offending .

A Youth Offender Panel consists of two volunteers alongside one member of the Youth Offending Service (YOS). The panel will meet with the young person and their parents or guardians to talk about the reasons for the offending behaviour and to agree a tailor-made contract aimed at putting things right. The victim is encouraged to attend the meeting to tell the young person how the crime has affected them.

This exciting initiative has great potential for reducing youth crime, benefiting not only local communities, but also society as a whole. It does however require time and effort from local volunteers to make this work.

Reparation Volunteers
We need volunteers to work with young people in the community who are required by the courts to undertake Reparation as part of their order. Reparation is a way for young people who have committed a criminal offence to make amends for the harm they have caused by doing unpaid, practical work for the benefit of the victim of their offence or the local community.

Mentoring
For many of our young clients, a volunteer mentor from their own community is someone they can talk to and rely on, who is not associated with other adults in authority in their lives. Mentors can provide young people with extra support and be a positive adult role model. Being a mentor requires you to take an interest in the young person with whom you work and encourage them to keep working at the areas which put them at risk of offending.

Mentors need to be aged 21 and over. We need mentors to be able to commit to spending one or two hours a week for up to a year with a young person.

What do I need?

We are looking for volunteers who reflect the diversity of Manchester. We would welcome interest from people from all ages, genders, sexuality, ethnicity and social backgrounds. Volunteers need to be prepared to undergo police checks and also provide references to show that you are suitable to deal with young people.

Although you do not need any formal qualifications to become any of the above you should be prepared to undertake full training and the following skills and qualities will be useful.

* Good communication skills
* Reliability
* Ability to maintain confidentiality
* Ability to work as part of a team
* Sensitivity
* Commitment
* Flexibility

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for Manchester City Youth Offending Service or require any further information please telephone: 0800 915 2480