Working with Young Offenders
As part of our youth work at Christchurch we get involved with and support young offenders and those young people on the edge of society. We do this in a number of ways.....
We have links with some of the Youth detention centres (youth prison) and we visit young people who have come to know the chaplaincy within that prison. We then come alongside them, visiting the young person, writing to them and getting to know them. If the young person wants to, we then continue this relationship upon their release offering to mentor and support them. We also work alongside the youth offending team in Luton and the sixteen plus unit within Social Services.
In addition we work with young people who are on the edge of society and in many ways not accepted in their community or considered a threat or 'people to avoid' (the hoodies, according to our media). We welcome all young people and seek to see them and accept them just as Jesus did, including them in our youth groups and other areas of church life, once again befriending them and getting to know them.
Another area where we work is at a local high school where we mentor young people who are for one reason or another in trouble; this is usually behavioural issues usually caused by family breakdown or other relational issues and also medical conditions such as Adhd.
This is done through mentoring on a weekly basis, offering support, guidance and a listening ear to young people to those to whom the school leads us.
