Client Stories
Jake
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Jake (15) and his younger brother have only recently been
taken into care. Their mother had been unable to take care of
them for some time, which meant that Jake had developed a number
of problems. Of particular concern was Jake’s behaviour
in relation to food. Because he had not known when food would
be available, he had developed a habit of hiding and hoarding
food in his room. He also had a phobia about being seen eating
and was therefore unable to eat with the other children at the
residential unit. He had neglected himself in terms of personal
hygiene, which made him a target for bullying at the school he
attended. Jake’s little brother is very bright, Jake’s
response to which has been to act younger in terms of speech
and behaviour.
Staff at the unit in Sheffield where Jake was living decided
to introduce him to the SOVA CAST & Befriending Project,
which runs a drop-in for young people in and leaving care. Even
though he was 15, staff were concerned that he was so easily
distracted, that he might not be able to travel there by himself
and so brought him along every week. At first he was very reserved,
especially with the female staff and young women at the drop-in.
The only thing Jake felt he was any good at was football and
so staff used that interest to encourage Jake to make new friends.
The opportunity for Jake to attend the project’s residential
at Whinfell Forest in Cumbria came around and staff were pleased
when Jake agreed to attend. One of the workers made a special
effort to get up early every morning to prepare and cook breakfast
with Jake whilst the others slept; soon Jake was eating his breakfast
with the worker and by the end of the residential, with the rest
of the group.
Jake now makes his own way to the drop-in, has made lots of
new friends, and helps out with the preparation and eating of
meals at the centre! A donation of chocolates was given to the
project, far more than the project needed, and so it was decided
to share them out around the residential units. Jake was given
the task of taking a big bag of sweets back to the unit where
he lives. A few months earlier he would have eaten what he could
in transit and hidden the rest in his room; but the full bag
arrived safely and was shared among the residents.
Jake’s key worker wrote to the project: “... the
change in Jake has been quite remarkable, he has made friends
... and his self confidence has improved massively. He is now
joining staff and other young people at meal times, joining in
conversations and making eye contact. He spends a lot more time
out of the House with friends... takes more pride in his appearance,
and his personal hygiene has improved.”
SOVA Project Manager, Thelma, says, “Jake is now a foot
taller than when I first met him ... it’s not that he has
actually grown; it’s just that he walks with his head up
now
Name changed to protect identity
SOVA has a long history of providing support to young people
in and leaving care, from independent visitors to one-to-one
mentoring and befriending, to group drop-ins. Independent visitors
are deployed to work with ‘looked after’ young people
who have infrequent or no contact with their families. The SOVA
Independent Visitors scheme in Hull saw an increase in referrals
approaching 200% during the year.
Research carried out by the Staffordshire Leaving Care Service
explored the benefits of mentoring: it concluded that mentoring
projects were flexible and more easily fit the needs of young
people, were cost effective, and that young people like them
– 75% of young people surveyed said they would like to have
a mentor. Many SOVA projects across the country provide a one-to-one
service, often supplemented by group activities, special programmes
such as services to young parents, residentials
and drop-ins. The Hull Befrienders Scheme even has an allotment
with regular activities for young people, such as building a
scarecrow, painting the shed and growing and carving pumpkins
for
Halloween.
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