Targeted youth support: redesigning services - neighbourhood development considers needs of young people

Issue

The needs of young people are not considered sufficiently in Hampshire's neighbourhood development plans.

Background

Neighbourhood development is a key part of the local strategic partnership and feeds into the local area agreement (LAA) in Andover, part of the Targeted Youth Support (TYS) pathfinder area.

The Turn Around project, a subgroup of the local strategic partnership (chaired by the chief executive of local housing association, Testway), has carried out a needs assessment with people in the local community, asking them about their problems, requirements and aspirations. The assessment was across all ages including many adults and there was some feeling that the views of young people needed further exploration.

The Turn Around project has drawn together a range of funding sources from Testway Housing, Hampshire County Council Recreation and Heritage Department, Test Valley Community Services and Test Valley Borough Council, with the idea of turning a local shop into a drop-in centre to provide advice and information about local authority services, adult education and health promotion, as well as providing a range of satellite services for young people and adults. A neighbourhood activity co-ordinator has also been appointed who will help co-ordinate services from the centre as well as activities for the community in general.

Test Valley Foyer, an organisation that provides a range of housing for young people, also operates in the pathfinder area.

Actions prompted by TYS

A TYS change team was formed to develop a model for a multi-agency targeted youth support team to operate in Andover.

The team (which includes several people from the Turn Around project) addressed young people's issues around housing and the environment as a priority. This built on the existing awareness that young people's issues in general needed further exploration. Issues involving housing and the environment had emerged directly from the young people's engagement during the TYS process.

Benefits and results

The TYS change team is working closely with the Turn Around project to ensure young people are participating in all decisions about community development. The TYS team is also liaising closely with Test Valley Foyer to ensure the housing needs of young people are fully understood and addressed.

The TYS process has helped ensure that the voice of young people is central to community development in this ward

Youth Service Manager and TYS lead Anthony Fielding

In addition, the change team is ensuring that housing will have a strong presence in the multi-agency TYS team, as housing and neighbourhood renewal is recognised as a priority concern for young people and having them onboard will make the team more effective.

Young people are also now contributing to the development of neighbourhood activities. The TYS process has provided an opportunity for young people to become more actively involved in the design of services and facilities intended for them. This is expected to result in many more appropriate and targeted activities for young people, which should lead to reductions in negative behaviours.

The local authority

Hampshire is a large county authority. The TYS pathfinder is focussing on the Test Valley, which includes a rural area and an area of deprivation. Hampshire's statistical neighbours include Gloucestershire, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Oxfordshire, Devon, Bedfordshire, Kent, North Yorkshire and Worcester.

Click to read more case studies on redesigning services to help young people with particular needs.