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NEWS EXTRA

New Christian approach to youthwork successful in cutting re-offending rates

A new approach to youthwork in Young Offenders Institutions, backed by government agencies and the prison authorities, is to go national.

Youth for Christ (YFC) has announced a national roll-out of their faith-based youth work and education programme - which has been successful in cutting re-offending rates of people once they have finished their term - to include 25 institutions in six regions. The next two years will see the strategic focus shift to the north-west, working with juveniles and young adults from age 15 to 24.

Youth for Christ has been carrying out 'faith-based' youthwork in local centres throughout the UK since the 50s and 60s, but has now teamed up with The Message, another Christian based youth organisation to offer youth work to Young Offenders Institutions. YFC estimate that the start up costs for the programme will be around £60,000, in addition to the cost of running the individual creative arts modules planned throughout the year.

For the last two years YFC has carried out a pilot project in the North-East which saw a marked drop in the number of graduates who re-offended. The project combined youth clubs, workshops, music, dance and drama to increase self-awareness, address low self-esteem issues and provide positive social skills. It also included the production of a music CD and filming of a video, both of which drew on the young people's strong creative instincts.

YFC is now seeking to generate more funding so it can duplicate the model in Young Offenders Institutions around the country. Their plan is to employ a full-time youth chaplain in each region, who will co-ordinate a team of volunteers and workers that can run activities which involve music, drama, mentoring and community awareness. Additional skills taught would include creative industry (commercial aspects), performance, technology and radio broadcasting.

This month, Geoff Baxter, has been appointed as project manager with overall responsibility for the programme. He explained: "At the core of our work is an emphasis on building relationships which otherwise have no chance of flourishing in the harsh environment of a prison. Young Offenders Institutions can be intimidating places. Many of the residents are by-products of failures in the education and judicial systems. We concentrate on treating young people as individuals and showing them they do have a choice."

Prison authorities have encouraged the Christian element to the programme because they recognise that a combined mental, physical and spiritual approach to youth work achieves better results. YFC plans to spend the next two years developing the work in the North-West, before moving its focus to another region.

Roy Crowne, National Director of YFC said: "The situations that are developing in many of Britain's Young Offenders Institutions can't be ignored any longer. The prison authorities recognise that YFC's brand of youth work is effective, since it examines the whole person - mind, body, spirit - and also seeks to release a person's creativity and show them that they do have a choice."

© Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.


		NEWS EXTRA New Christian approach to youthwork successful in cutting re-offending rates A new approach to youthwork in Young Offenders Institutions, backed by government agencies and the prison authorities, is to go national. Youth for Christ (YFC) has announced a national roll-out of their faith-based youth work and education programme - which has been successful in cutting re-offending rates of people once they have finished their term - to include 25 institutions in six regions. The next two years will see the strategic focus shift to the north-west, working with juveniles and young adults from age 15 to 24. Youth for Christ has been carrying out 'faith-based' youthwork in local centres throughout the UK since the 50s and 60s, but has now teamed up with The Message, another Christian based youth organisation to offer youth work to Young Offenders Institutions. YFC estimate that the start up costs for the programme will be around £60,000, in addition to the cost of running the individual creative arts modules planned throughout the year. For the last two years YFC has carried out a pilot project in the North-East which saw a marked drop in the number of graduates who re-offended. The project combined youth clubs, workshops, music, dance and drama to increase self-awareness, address low self-esteem issues and provide positive social skills. It also included the production of a music CD and filming of a video, both of which drew on the young people's strong creative instincts. YFC is now seeking to generate more funding so it can duplicate the model in Young Offenders Institutions around the country. Their plan is to employ a full-time youth chaplain in each region, who will co-ordinate a team of volunteers and workers that can run activities which involve music, drama, mentoring and community awareness. Additional skills taught would include creative industry (commercial aspects), performance, technology and radio broadcasting. This month, Geoff Baxter, has been appointed as project manager with overall responsibility for the programme. He explained: "At the core of our work is an emphasis on building relationships which otherwise have no chance of flourishing in the harsh environment of a prison. Young Offenders Institutions can be intimidating places. Many of the residents are by-products of failures in the education and judicial systems. We concentrate on treating young people as individuals and showing them they do have a choice." Prison authorities have encouraged the Christian element to the programme because they recognise that a combined mental, physical and spiritual approach to youth work achieves better results. YFC plans to spend the next two years developing the work in the North-West, before moving its focus to another region. Roy Crowne, National Director of YFC said: "The situations that are developing in many of Britain's Young Offenders Institutions can't be ignored any longer. The prison authorities recognise that YFC's brand of youth work is effective, since it examines the whole person - mind, body, spirit - and also seeks to release a person's creativity and show them that they do have a choice." © Christian Family Network is run by CPO, supported by Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting, Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.