Connecting With Young People In Trouble

This powerful critique of youth justice based on lived experience, theory and practice looks at the topic through a refreshing new lens, suggesting that some existing ways of dealing with children and young people may do more harm than good. After making readers aware of Risk Relation Paradox, the author shows that positive outcomes cannot be imposed or directed but that they can stem from ‘presence, attunement, connection and trust’ (PACT). Then priority should be given to buffering the impact of familiar but questionable relationships in a youngster’s own ‘village’ that may have led to toxic stress, complex trauma, criminal or anti-authority attitudes and other adverse childhood experiences. In arguing for change, Andi Brierley brings his extensive experience on both sides of the justice fence as prisoner and professional to bear — and whilst he champions the engagement skills of others who have travelled a similar journey, he also explains how the approach can be used by anyone. Reviews ‘This important and engaging text will be of great value to those working within the youth justice sector and educators alike… Andi Brierley crafts a new framework that facilitates pathways to positive outcomes. And offers a rich and insightful account of the key components of effective relationship-based practice.’-- Dr Sean Creaney, Edge Hill University, UK. ‘This book sits at the intersection between personal lived experience and professional practice and … makes it a hugely valuable contribution to the discourse … Brierley not only contextually articulates his experiences but seeks to provide a new framework through which youth justice can effect change.’-- Lisa Cherry (From the Foreword). Author Andrew Brierley is a Youth Justice Specialist with 15 years of experience working with the most prolific, serious, vulnerable and complex youngsters involved in offending behaviour. He is the author of Your Honour Can I Tell You My Story? (Waterside Press, 2019) which made a difference for other incarcerated young people and professionals working with young people in trouble concerning the relational issues many such children experience — and how they bounce back.

"In an age where teenagers are deeply engaged in virtual communities and social networks, they’re still feeling alone and isolated. It may sound all too simple, but the truth is that you have the opportunity to make a profound impact on the lives of students with the simple act of spending time with them, one-on-one. Whether you’re a volunteer or the lead youth pastor, getting some students to open up and share their lives can be a challenge. In this practical book you’ll learn the importance of connecting with students on an individual basis and get helpful ideas on how to engage a variety of students in meaningful dialogue. You’ll explore and learn more about connecting with six different types of students, including: • The “No Way” Kid • The “Not Interested” Kid • The “Checking Things Out Kid” • The “Stagnant” Kid • The “Growing” Kid • The “Looking for Ministry” Kid Connect will walk you through the steps to lead you into relationships with students that go beyond the youth room and impact them into adulthood."

This book grasps the duality between opportunities and risks which arise from children’s and adolescents’ social media use. It investigates the following main themes, from a multidisciplinary perspective: identity, privacy, risks and empowerment. Social media have become an integral part of young people’s lives. While social media offer adolescents opportunities for identity and relational development, adolescents might also be confronted with some threats. The first part of this book deals with how young people use social media to express their developing identity. The second part revolves around the disclosure of personal information on social network sites, and concentrates on the tension between online self-disclosure and privacy. The final part deepens specific online risks young people are confronted with and suggests solutions by describing how children and adolescents can be empowered to cope with online risks. By emphasizing these different, but intertwined topics, this book provides a unique overview of research resulting from different academic disciplines such as Communication Studies, Education, Psychology and Law. The outstanding researchers that contribute to the different chapters apply relevant theories, report on topical research, discuss practical solutions and reveal important emerging issues that could lead future research agendas.

A psychologist with a reputation for penetrating to the heart of complex parenting issues joins forces with a physician and bestselling author to tackle one of the most disturbing and misunderstood trends of our time -- peers replacing parents in the lives of our children. Dr. Neufeld has dubbed this phenomenon peer orientation, which refers to the tendency of children and youth to look to their peers for direction: for a sense of right and wrong, for values, identity and codes of behaviour. But peer orientation undermines family cohesion, poisons the school atmosphere, and fosters an aggressively hostile and sexualized youth culture. It provides a powerful explanation for schoolyard bullying and youth violence; its effects are painfully evident in the context of teenage gangs and criminal activity, in tragedies such as in Littleton, Colorado; Tabor, Alberta and Victoria, B.C. It is an escalating trend that has never been adequately described or contested until Hold On to Your Kids. Once understood, it becomes self-evident -- as do the solutions. Hold On to Your Kids will restore parenting to its natural intuitive basis and the parent-child relationship to its rightful preeminence. The concepts, principles and practical advice contained in Hold On to Your Kids will empower parents to satisfy their children’s inborn need to find direction by turning towards a source of authority, contact and warmth. Something has changed. One can sense it, one can feel it, just not find the words for it. Children are not quite the same as we remember being. They seem less likely to take their cues from adults, less inclined to please those in charge, less afraid of getting into trouble. Parenting, too, seems to have changed. Our parents seemed more confident, more certain of themselves and had more impact on us, for better or for worse. For many, parenting does not feel natural. Adults through the ages have complained about children being less respectful of their elders and more difficult to manage than preceding generations, but could it be that this time it is for real? -- from Hold On to Your Kids

The many and continual advances in technology can be both exciting and daunting; exciting because of the multitude of opportunities at our grasp yet daunting when faced with the prospect of keeping up with and/or affording them. This holds true in youth ministry where, as youth workers, we serve a population that seems to be innately in tune with technology and what it offers. We’re all technological users but much of our adult expertise pales before the intuitive use of our students. What do we do? Youth Ministry in a Technological Age seeks to offer a window into understanding and using technology in youth ministry that is grounded theologically. In this book, researchers and people involved in youth ministry share insights and make recommendations concerning how we approach and use technology in youth ministry, always recognizing our need to be faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Claire Smith

Taking a multi-disciplinary perspective, and one grounded in human rights, Unaccompanied young migrants explores in-depth the journeys migrant youths take through the UK legal and care systems. Arriving with little agency, what becomes of these children as they grow and assume new roles and identities, only to risk losing legal protection as they reach eighteen? Through international studies and crucially the voices of the young migrants themselves, the book examines the narratives they present and the frameworks of culture and legislation into which they are placed. It challenges existing policy and questions, from a social justice perspective, what the treatment of this group tells us about our systems and the cultural presuppositions on which they depend.

Includes practical suggestions, personal experiences, and best practices for engaging young adults in library services, covering such topics as customer service, information literacy, collections, and outreach.