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listenup!100 | Case Study 4Case Study 4:The Caterpillar Service, Barnardo’sMarlborough Road Partnership, CardiffMission statement“The lives of all children should be free from poverty,abuse and discrimination. Our purpose is to help allchildren and young people transform their lives andfulfil their full potential.”Overview of the serviceThe Caterpillar Service offers holistic, flexible supportto young people with mental health problems agedbetween 12 and 21. Working both in hospital settingsand in the community, the project offers group andone-to-one support for young people covering allaspects of their lives, from emotional support topractical help with medication, housing, employmentand education. The type of support is determinedby each individual’s needs and interests; emphasis isplaced on treating young people as whole peoplerather than concentrating on their problems, so muchof the support involves fun activities.The service is run as part of the Barnardo’sMarlborough Road Partnership. A leading UKchildren’s charity, Barnardo’s runs over 380 servicesacross the UK designed to support vulnerableand disadvantaged young people in establishingthemselves as independent citizens within theircommunities. The Marlborough Road Partnership,one of 40 Barnardo’s services in Wales, offers generichelp and support to young people in Cardiffand Newport and took part in the Youth Crisis Iconsultation. Young people in the consultation saidthat statutory mental health provision was limited,difficult to access, rigid, stigmatising and offered onlya medical perspective. Building on these findings,Barnardo’s spent two years reviewing policy andconsulting a wide range of stakeholders includingyoung people, parents, carers and professionalsbefore establishing the Caterpillar Service. Originally,the project was designed for young people agedbetween 16 and 25; this was however changedwhen it became possible to collaborate with thelocal adolescent psychiatric ward which works withchildren under 16.Funding was initially provided by Barnardo’s. In 2006,the Caterpillar Service successfully bid for fundingfrom the lottery and this has led to a significantexpansion of their service. Cymorth funding hasenabled the Caterpillar Service to start its work inschools with young people who are at risk of or havesome signs of mental health problems.Service development work carried out as part ofthe Mental Health Foundation projectFor the first year, the Mental Health Foundation partfundedthe post of the project worker employedto run the Caterpillar Service. To start with, thisentailed group work in the hospital setting whichincluded undertaking activities and providing socialsupport. Over time, as well as the inpatient groupwork one-to-one work was offered. This could takeplace anywhere from the Barnardo’s office to alocal coffee shop. Part of the project worker’s rolehas included ongoing policy and campaign workwhich has included running workshops and doingpresentations with young people.Service catchment areaThe catchment area of the service is Cardiff, althoughstaff also travel to visit young people who have beenplaced in psychiatric units outside the area.ReferralsYoung people must have an acknowledged mentalhealth problem and be seeking help for this. Referralsare accepted from any source including voluntary andstatutory agencies, friends, family members or self-referral.Referral details in January - March 2006In this period, 28 young people were referred to theCaterpillar Service. Of these, one had self-referred,while the remainder had been referred throughstatutory services. The majority (60%) came throughChild and Adolescent Mental Health Services.The young people accessing the project havecomplex needs and so it was difficult to identify onereason only for referral. All of the young people in